Beyond the Mirror
by Cosmicgiraffe
Summary: The conclusion to what the anime events foretold... and the introduction to beyond...
1. Chapter I: On the Verge of War

**A/N:** Sequel to Angels of Prophecy. Here is as brief of a summary of that story as I could make.

**Warning! If you still plan on reading Angels of Prophecy, turn back now!**

_Angels of Prophecy started with Fumu as she cut her hand on a rock on a normal day. Meta Knight started acting strange and before she knew it, Meta Knight was trying to kill her. Later after his head was cleared, he told her and the others that Knightmare was the only one who could possess him like that and that the emperor of darkness had returned after they had thought he had been defeated for good._

_They leave Popstar and travel to Icronth and Tronjam where Meta Knight is briefly reunited with his crew before they betray him, selling him for a high price to Galacta Knight. Galacta Knight reveals Meta Knight as a demonbeast and soon takes off, taking his prisoner with him. The others are left, broken apart and each with their own anger against Meta Knight. Kamira rejoins the group but they soon find themselves lost in space. They land on the nearby planet which turned out to be Ceilon. There, they meet a strange lady of Kirby's species that takes them in during a wild dust storm. Clara turned out to be Kirby's mother and she asks where the father is. The group finds out that Meta Knight was Kirby's father. _

_During the trip, Bun, Knuckle Joe, Dedede, and Escargon stumble upon a large stone with engravings on it. Kamira reads it, telling of how the Ancients, a group that had formed long ago with wisdom of the gods had made a prophecy. She was only able to read a part of it which later is proved to be incorrect._

_Ceilon was being currently used as the GSA's base. Sir Arthur agrees to join them on their quest and they all leave for Knightmare Enterprises. There, they learn that Meta Knight is the heir of Knightmare's monstrous galactic empire. He is often referred to by the demonbeasts as 'the Prince.' As his grandson, Kirby is asked by Knightmare to join him. The pink Star Warrior refuses and they are all thrown into the dungeons._

_Meta Knight tells the others how he had been created to make bad dreams to keep Knightmare in power. He was the Black Angel of the prophecy and had power over fire and electricity as well as the power to distort reality into twisted illusions to help create nightmares. Galacta Knight was the white angel of the prophecy and had power over ice and wind as well as to take control over machines and electronics._

_Guards come and take them to the main level where Knightmare reprograms Meta Knight and turns him back into his servant. A chase soon follows as the others run from being killed by Meta Knight. From a moment of brilliance, Dedede points out that Meta Knight could be revived by using the one memory he would not let Knightmare take away from him: the memory of Clara. They soon are able to get the Meta Knight they know back and Kirby defeats Knightmare. They escape out of Knightmare Enterprises and Meta Knight and Galacta Knight battle it out. Finally, everyone returns home._

Whew! That was a lot to summarize. It's hard to condense a twenty two chapter story into 6 paragraphs! Anyway, now we can take out minds out of the past and go on with this story.

The Cappies, demonbeasts, and the GSA soldiers are now all packed up in Dreamland where fights occur almost every day. Meta Knight is faced with the demonbeasts being segregated by the GSA as being dangerous creatures. Can he find a way to allow all three groups to live peacefully together?

Segregate, by the way, does not have to mean by religion or ethnic group. It can also mean separating by isolating a group from the rest. That is how it is used in this chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anyone except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 1: On the Verge of War--**

Meta Knight looked down upon the grassy hills of Dreamland. The early morning sun shone on his mask from where he sat on the battlements tops. Every villager, Dreamlander, GSA soldier, and demonbeast slept on. In the distance, he could hear the lone call of a bird.

Shifting his gaze, Meta Knight's gold eyes fell across a small thatched roof home on the outskirts of the village. Under that roof was a family of Cappies and perhaps a few GSA soldiers. On top of the same house was a sleeping serpent-like demonbeast, curled up like a coiled roof. Less than a week ago, the family would have paniced to see the monster.

Meta Knight's leathery bat wings shifted slightly. As their prince, Meta Knight held the high authority over his kind, the demonbeasts. They looked to him to defend their rights when fights would break out between the GSA troops and the demonbeasts. Their hatred for the other had not disappeared. Meta Knight was weary from shouting and running from one dispute to the next. Usually, they were over small matters but even that didn't stop some fights from getting violent. In one extreme case, Meta Knight had to kill the fighting demonbeast.

Over the last few days, Meta Knight noticed one thing. Whenever there was a dispute of any kind, the demonbeasts were the ones to take the blame.

"Meta Knight?"

He turned around as Clara stood at the other end of the battlements. She wore a light robe that flowed gently along with the bandages on her head. Her soft blue eyes looked tired.

"What a…are you doing…up so…early?"

Meta Knight pulled her up on the wall edge as she walked over to him. His wings lifted off of the ground and wrapped around her body to keep her warm. She looked at him and smiled.

"You...fixed y...your mask."

"Yes," Meta Knight answered as he felt her hand run along the edge of his metallic mask.

They watched as the sun slowly ascended higher into the morning sky. Unlike him and his kind, the Dreamlanders loved Clara. Her warm laugh filled the air around her with a pleasant sound that made one think of vanilla. Around her, even the most grumpy and unsociable villagers had come to like her. She was well liked by young and old. She did wonderful work as a healer. She became Yabui's assistant and healed wounds and illnesses that couldn't be helped with medicine. But it wasn't her healing powers that most had said help them get better, it was her voice.

Her wondrous voice rivaled the songs sung by birds. She sang when she worked and people would often stop to listen. Shyly, one engaged couple asked her if she would sing at their wedding which she happily agreed to.

Clara turned to her husband. Her eyes became worried.

"Is..something..t…troubling you."

Meta Knight blinked as he returned to the present.

"I was just thinking. It's nothing important."

"Y…you never…relax. Isn't there ever…any moment…when you a…aren't troubled by something?"

"Forgive me. My duty to protect and serve the demonbeasts as their leader has been stressful."

Clara carefully unstrapped his mask off his face until his innocent child-like face was uncovered. They closed their eyes as they brought their faces together and kissed.

* * *

The two lovers made their way down the streets of Cappy Town. The sun had risen further and more and more villagers, soldiers, and demonbeasts were out on the streets. Meta Knight would stumble every so often and Clara would help him regain balance. Cappies watched them in stony silence. Only Kawasaki greeted them cheerfully as they walked by his restraint. Even if they didn't' know it, Meta Knight could hear the thoughts of the villagers echo in his mind.

"_It's him again…"_

"_My roof almost came down on me and my kids from the demonbeast sleeping on top of our house!"_

"_Who does Meta Knight think he is to let loose millions of demonbeasts into Dreamland?"_

"_Why in the world would someone as beautiful as Clara want to marry a demonbeast like him? Did he force her?"_

The last one hurt the most. He had never forced her to marry him. He had knelt down before her and had proposed, just like any man would. His gloves curled into fists but he dismissed his anger and continued walking with Clara.

Just as they were about to reach the cross roads, Wolfwrath trotted over alongside him. Her fur coat gleamed in the sunlight. The jewel crowning her head sparkled with the radiance of an emerald.

She bowed down before addressing him.

"_Prince, you are requested to come immediately. The other day, the mayor's sheep was eaten. The villagers and soldiers immediately assumed that we did it. Every one of us swore upon our souls that we would obey the rules and laws of Dreamland. I don't think it was a demonbeast who had taken his livestock. We tried solving the dispute ourselves before coming to get you but it only worsened."_

Clara looked at Meta Knight as he climbed up on to the wolf's back.

"Let me come with you."

"No. I don't' want you to be troubled by politics."

Meta Knight and Wolfwrath soon disappeared around the corner before Clara could say anything more.

The sound of shouts and growls filled the air as they drew closer to the mayor's house. Finally, the GSA soldiers and demonbeasts came into view. There were several Cappies there watching the fight along with Fumu, Fun, Knuckle Joe, Sirica, and Tokori. They kept a safe distance away from the fight. As soon as he arrived, everyone's heads turned to face him.

Meta Knight dismounted and limped hurriedly over. The winds of war hung in the air, just waiting for one side to strike first. The Cappies trusted the GSA far more than his kind. They glared at him as he stood in the center.

"Stop with this meaningless fighting! Can we not work this out peacefully?"

Several shouts filled the air.

"Peacefully? Your demonbeasts will eat us next after they're finished with the sheep!"

Demonbeasts growled back as they protested their innocence from killing the livestock. Meta Knight bit down on his lip. One wrong word and there would be killing. He turned to a broad shouldered soldier of the GSA.

"Is it not the duty of the GSA to protect the universe's residents, not segregate them?"

"This isn't about segregation," The man answered smoothly. "This is about protecting the lives of the people of Dreamland."

"The demonbeasts have done nothing wrong. You just assume that when something bad happens, it's _our _fault!" Meta Knight said, restraining himself from shouting. "If we weren't burdened by being Knightmare's servants, we could live peacefully with the rest of the universe! If the ranchers here can't protect their own livestock, then that isn't _my _fault or any of the demonbeasts' faults!"

"Listen! We're just doing our job!" The soldier said angrily. "Just stick to your own business!"

"_How dare you speak in that way to our prince!" _Wolfwrath growled.

She leapt into the air, claws stretched out. The solider drew his gun as he side stepped. Wolfwrath landed a few feet away from him, fur bristling in anger.

Meta Knight's eyes flashed orange as he realized the soldier was going to shoot. He ran in-between the two. He held his arms to stop them both when the soldier pulled the trigger. Meta Knight felt something metal and sharp strike his arm. He looked down to see a bullet embedded in his arm, blood flowing down from it.

Every demonbeast watching the fight turned to the GSA, anger rising. They charged. Shouts soon filled the air. Meta Knight looked around him in horror. They were all on the same side yet their hatred for the other kept them apart. Many of the GSA soldiers had lost parts of their families to Knightmare's forces and the demonbeasts served to protect their prince.

"Sir Meta Knight!"

He turned around as Fumu, Bun, Knuckle Joe, Sirica, and Tokori ran to him. They helped him stand up and safely got him out of the fray. He held a glove over the bullet wound as he leaned against the tree. His body shook from desperation to stop the fighting.

Suddenly, a shout sounded clear over the noise.

"STOP!"

Everyone came to a halt as they turned to Kirby. The young Star Warrior stood on top of the hill that over looked the mayor's house. Galaxia shone in the sun from his side. His ability in speech had sky rocketed over the last few days. He no longer seemed to hold the innocence of a child but rather the strength of a great leader. His serious blue eyes scanned the crowds.

"Why do you fight like this when we are all on the side?"

"_Did you see what that soldier did to your father?" _Wolfwrath growled. "_He was not hesitant to pull the trigger_."

Kirby briefly glanced over at Meta Knight before returning his eyes to the wolf.

"Your own anger had cost him that."

He turned to the GSA.

"Did you not all vow to protect the universe and its people, no matter the circumstance?"

The soldiers said nothing but shuffled uncomfortably. Kirby turned to the demonbeasts.

"Did you not all swear to obey the laws of Dreamland as long as you choose to live here?"

Nobody said a word.

"Then it is settled. We must accept each other for what we are and to work together. I had been informed that it was ordinary wolves that ate Mayor Len's sheep,_ not_ demonbeasts."

Kirby dismissed the crowd and slowly, it broke apart as the Cappies and GSA soldiers returned to the village. Meta Knight limped over to his son. He placed his un-bloodied glove on Kirby's shoulder.

"That was well said. They all respect you without question. I only wish that you didn't have to be troubled by such events like this on your birthday."

Kirby smiled as he looked up at his father.

"Heh. I completely forgot about that. Everything's been kind of hectic since we got back from Knightmare Enterprises."

Meta Knight's eyes changed to a light blue.

"You've grown up so fast that your mother and I have barely had a chance to see you grow. Speaking about your birthday, come with me."

Kirby followed his father in puzzlement. After a long walk to the castle, Meta Knight placed a blindfold over Kirby's eyes.

"Dad, I don't' have time for games like this."

"We're almost there. It's important for me and your mother.

Kirby followed Meta Knight blindly. He guessed he was being taken to an underground room from the long flight of stairs he went down and the cool draft from the room.

"Okay, you may take the blindfold off now."

Kirby's eyes widened as he took the cloth off his face. They were in the Halberd's stationing room. The warship shone from careful polishing and cleaning.

"Happy birthday Kirby," Both Meta Knight and Clara said as his mother came into the room behind them.

She held a package in her hands. She held it out to Kirby. He took it and glanced at it and the Halberd.

"All this…for me?"

His parents nodded. He opened the package and pulled out a bright red cape with gold trims, a matching pair of shoulder plates, and a pair of white gloves like the ones his father wore. He looked at Meta Knight and Clara, mouth hung open in surprise.

"We're giving you the Halberd and your own armor. You can use them when you are leading the GSA," Meta Knight said. "The Halberd has been repaired and cleaned, ready for you to take command of it."

"Try on the armor Kirby." Clara said.

The armor and cape fit perfectly. Kirby spun around, letting the cape flow into the air as he admired it. It resembled Meta Knight's usual attire except for he had no mask. His father chuckled.

"You're going to have to pick out your own mask. Everyone has a different preference of styles and metal types."

Kirby looked back at the Halberd again.

"Don't you want to fly it? It is your ship after all."

"Nah. I have my own set of wings." Meta Knight said as his bat wings unfolded.

Kirby smiled. He hugged his parents.

"Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad."

Just as they were about to walk over to Kirby's new warship, Sword and Blade came running in.

"Sir! Sir! You have to come immediately! There's a new order sent by Dedede! It's urgent!"

Meta Knight looked at Kirby before he reluctantly followed the two apprentices back to the castle grounds. Kirby sadly watched as his father left. What he had wanted the most was to spend time with his mother and father.

* * *

**A/N: **That concludes the first chapter! I thought it would be interesting to portray the GSA being somewhat of the 'bad guys'.

Also, I wanted to give Kirby a stronger figure than what he had been like from Angels of Prophecy. In that story, he didn't' get a much of a role. Since he is the new GSA leader, taking the position after Sir Arthur, he really needed to become more mature and less child-like to lead the military force.

Please review!


	2. Chapter II: Going Away

**A/N: **Meta Knight wanted the most to finally be able to spend time with his family after the years he had spent, not knowing where his wife was or the years he had been separated from Kirby. The new order signed by Dedede, the mayor, villagers, and GSA soldiers stir up the uneasy feelings between them and the demonbeasts. Meta Knight must make a decision for his kind to either stay but become the equivalent to prisoners or leave Dreamland forever.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anyone except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 2: Going Away--**

Meta Knight stared at the large notice poster pasted on to the large tree in the central square of Cappy Town.

--

_By Order of the King, Mayor, _

_Soldiers, and citizens,_

_All demonbeasts must wear a metal ring restraining _

_Violent activity or leave Dreamland._

_--_

Under it, Dedede and Mayor Len's signatures were written in fine ink. This was an official order. Demonbeasts congregating by the sign hissed at it. They turned to him for orders. Sword and Blade watched as their lord's gloves curled into fists and his eyes turn red.

"I'm going to talk to Dedede," He said as last. "He's the only one who can stop this."

He gave a sharp whistle and Wolfwrath appeared. He got up on to her back and the two rode off towards the castle.

* * *

"You know why I am here before you, your majesty." Meta Knight said as he bowed down before looking up towards the penguin along with Escargon.

Dedede avoided his gaze as he shifted uncomfortably.

"My question is why did you issue that order?"

"I was forced to. Mayor Len, Cappies, and GSA troops stormed in and threatened that if I didn't' sign it, they would rebel against my rule." He said slowly.

"They already don't follow under you. They only put up with your constant abuse."

Dedede looked at Escargon for back up. The snail laughed nervously.

"It's not going to be all bad. See this?"

The snail held up a metal shackle. It seemed to smile evilly at Meta Knight.

"This is just going to go over your wings and we will give the key to a GSA soldier. Then you can go on living in Dreamland as if nothing ever happened."

Meta Knight stared in horror at it.

"Is this what my kind has been doomed to be, prisoners?" He asked hoarsely. "I will never let anyone ever enslave me like Knightmare did, ever."

He backed away from it.

"Then you and your demonbeasts have to leave. You have been given until tonight to leave Dreamland along with all of the demonbeasts."

Strangely, Dedede seemed unhappy with the order just as much as Meta Knight did. The knight turned and ran, not looking back once.

Meta Knight ran down the castles halls. The only thing he could hear was his heart's beating. He nearly ran straight into a large cart with food cooked by the waddledees but he continued running. He slammed through the courtyard doors and ran out into the rain. It started as a light drizzle but soon came down hard. Meta Knight stood out in the open. His cape became soaking wet and rain dripped down from his armor and mask. He looked up towards the gray skies. The world that had once smiled down upon him had become so unforgiving and cruel.

_Where will we go?_

There wasn't a place in the universe where they could live peacefully. The universe hated his kind. They were unwanted. If they had suddenly all disappeared, the rest of the universe would be celebrating.

There was too many of his kind to live on a small area. It had to be large. It also had to provide many resources including some type of source to get blood. Most of his kind thrived on it. That was partly why their kind was unwanted. Someone had to be sacrificed for them to live on.

A sudden thought came to him.

_The Mirror World…_

He possessed the power to open the gate to the Mirror World. It was a world of silence and darkness; it stretched on forever into eternity. All of the memories, thoughts, and dreams resided there. It was like a well; the Mirror World kept collecting more and more memories whether they were happy or sad.

He and his kind finally have a place to live where nobody would ever hate them for what they were ever again.

The ideaseemed perfect until he realized one thing. He would be leaving his wife and son forever.

For a moment, he considered taking them along with him to the Mirror World. However, they would be unhappy. The Mirror World was a sad and lonely place. It was always under the curtain of silence. And with Kirby being the new GSA leader, he had to remain in the universe to lead the troops when the universe needed them. He needed to finally be with his mother as well. He had only been about a year old when she had been presumed dead. Clara could also help him earn the trust he needed from the soldiers. As Sir Arthur's daughter, she had the authority over them.

The only time he would ever be able to see his family would be when he used a mirror to look into the Dimensional World. Mirrors could be used to contact anyone from either side but it could only be seen through. He would not be able to hear Clara's voice or touch her. She would always be behind glass whenever he longed to see her again.

Wolfwrath came out from the coverage of a tree and out into the open. Her giant paws walked slowly through the wet grass over to him. She shook her furry body like a wet dog, shaking all of the water off her fur and on to Meta Knight.

"_Does something trouble you, Prince?"_

Meta Knight's eyes glanced over to her before they returned to the sky.

"Rouse the demonbeasts. It is time to begin the long march across the bridge between worlds."

* * *

The Villagers and soldiers watched at the edge of the wide field as demonbeasts came out of the castle, forest, village, ocean, and sky. Every last one was here. They gathered in complete silence.

The field was on the western side of Dreamland and was one of its most wide open areas. The forest bordered it at a distance and only a few hills ruffled the landscape. Meta Knight stood at the far end, gazing out towards the descending sun. He and the demonbeasts were to be gone from Dreamland soon.

"What's going on Dad?" Kirby said as he ran up to him.

The pink Star Warrior was wearing the cape and armor he and Clara had given to him. It seemed to shine a more orange hue in the setting sun. Meta Knight couldn't bring himself to look into the eyes of his son.

"I'm leaving."

"W…where?" Kirby stammered.

"A faraway place." Meta Knight said quietly.

Clara, Fumu, Bun, Tokori, Knuckle Joe, Sirica, Dedede, and Escargon walked over to him. Meta Knight could feel their questions pound into his mind.

"Meta Knight…there m…must be some other way." Clara said, tugging on his glove.

Meta Knight looked up at her for a moment before looking back at the ground.

"We will get Dreamland to accept you no matter how long it takes. We _will _find a way!"

"No Clara, We demonbeasts have no place in the universe. Our kind will leave the Dimensional World and go to the Mirror World."

Her eyes changed to surprise. She didn't know what she was talking about. She had expected that he would have just moved the demonbeasts to another part of Popstar.

"I…don't u…understand!"

Meta Knight turned away from and her and gazed out into the sea of demonbeasts.

"You don't have to. I will disappear and never return."

He opened his wings and flew into the air. His sword glimmered as he drew it out. All eyes were fixed upon him. He held the sword in both hands and murmured a few words.

His sword glowed brightly as strange symbols and letters of light formed on the blade. He sliced through the air and a loud ripping noise sounded. Everyone gasped as Meta Knight thrust the sword down until it touched the ground. As if the sky was nothing but a curtain hanging high above their heads, Meta Knight had ripped through the air and pulled back the tear. Inside was a watery-like surface that reflected the sun's golden rays like a mirror.

Meta Knight sheathed his sword and stepped aside, signaling to the demonbeasts. They began walking forward into the tear in space. Ripples formed on the mirror surface as they entered the gate.

"This is the entrance to the Mirror World. Many will not make it past the bridge between worlds. They will fall into the void, forever lost in darkness. "Meta Knight said, looking back at the others.

Then he looked directly at Clara.

"And because of that, I'm leaving you here, Clara, where you will be happier."

Clara looked at him in shock.

"I want to be with you. I will never be happy without you!"

"Trust me Clara. You would be better off in Dreamland. The Mirror World is under the veil of silence. No birds are there, nothing that makes sound. You told me yourself that you love to hear the birds sing."

"But I would be no happier here if you were not here with me!" Clara shouted.

Meta Knight's hands shook as his anger rose.

"Can't you see that I'm sacrificing what I have for the sake of you? I have been to the Mirror World before and I know what it's like there. With my duties, I have to go. I cannot stay here in Dreamland, but I refuse to drag you into the Mirror World to satisfy my own self."

His voice softened.

"I want to do what's best for you and Kirby. You must understand that. I can't risk losing you to the void Clara. You would never be seen again by either world. Kirby needs you."

His glove stroked her cheek, carefully wiping off her tears. Suddenly, Clara shoved him away. She shouted at him, getting the attention of all that had come to watch the demonbeasts leave.

"You abandoned your own son once and now you're going to do so again? What kind of father are you?"

Meta Knight backed off slightly, eyes looking at hers in shock. His eyes turned dark blue.

"Clara…"

"Don't you love me and Kirby? Does our marriage even _mean _anything to you anymore?"

Her words stung Meta Knight. He searched for words to say but found none. His body shook. Suddenly, he ran. He couldn't take it any longer. He couldn't bear to look at Clara any longer.

Clara's eyes widened as she realized what she had just said. She covered her mouth with her hands, wishing she could take back her words.

Meta Knight pulled himself on to Wolfwrath's back. He, Wolfwrath, Lololo, and Lalala were the only ones who had not entered the gate. All the other demonbeasts were on the other side. Meta Knight turned away from Clara.

"No matter what you think of me, my heart belongs to you."

Wolfwrath stepped back a few feet away from the gate, ready to charge in. Meta Knight nodded to Lololo and Lalala and the two twins entered the portal.

"Don't leave!" Clara cried out.

She was about to run towards him when Sword and Blade grabbed her by the arms, holding her back.

"Forgive us," Sword murmured. "Direct orders."

Wolfwrath reared and charged towards the gate. They disappeared just as the tears came back together and closed up, as if there had never been any gate way to another world. Meta Knight and Wolfwrath disappeared, never to return to Dreamland and the universe of the Dimensional World.

The gathered crowds of Dreamlanders and GSA soldiers turned away almost guiltily as Clara sobbed out in the rain for her loved one.

* * *

**A/N: **Sound familiar? This is my way of making fun of Edward leaving Bella in New Moon. If you are a fan of the vampire, then you won't have to hear me say anything bad against him again.

Kind of sad for Clara. Meta Knight wanted to do what was best for her and Kirby and ended up had to leave the two.

The Dimensional World is the opposite of the Mirror World, the universe we live in. The Mirror World is the world that lies in its shadows. And the void that Meta Knight was talking about is the empty space between the two worlds where travelers lose their way and forever wander through it, never finding their way back to either of the worlds again.

Please review!


	3. Chapter III: The Bridge Between Worlds

**A/N:** Happy New Year!

Heh. Clara's moping around like Bella Swan from Twilight now. To be honest, it took me WEEKS to read New Moon becuase I thought it was so dull. I hated it sooo much! After about three fourth of the way through does she _finally _go out to save Edward and actually DO something. I hated it how she dumped Jacob…

Enough with Twilight. While in her sad and sorry state, Clara finds that there is a way to follow Meta Knight into the Mirror World and try to bring him back.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anyone except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 3: The Bridge Between Worlds--**

Days passed. On the first night, the only sound that could be heard the entire night long was Clara's sobs. It kept everyone up and in regret for some to their actions. A nice family of Cappies had taken her in to their home from the rain, but getting her out of the field proved to be a task easier said than done. She had to be dragged out of the field by some of the strongest GSA soldiers as she dug her hands into the ground and acted like a stubborn plow. Long after everyone else had left, she had continued sobbing in the wet grass. Eventually, her body became so cold and became fevered. Her voice had become almost inaudible.

Kirby stayed at her bedside as much as he could. He didn't say anything as he would pull up a chair and sit with his mother. Almost like a beautiful replica of a lifeless porcelain doll, her blue green eyes would stare at the ceiling and her body wouldn't move.

She wouldn't eat either. The Cappies brought her meals but they remained on the table at her bedside and become soggy and cold. Her body became more and more skeleton like as the days passed. Finally, Yabui had some of the GSA soldiers take her to his office where he could keep her alive.

Kirby was now sitting a stool in the small hospital room. He gazed down at his mother sadly. He read to her from one of her favorite books for about an hour before he gave up.

"The others are worried about you, Mom. They want to see you happy again. I think you need to get some fresh air."

After Yabui gave him permission, he lifted her almost weightless body out of bed and helped her stand. She moved slightly. It was enough to encourage Kirby to keep going.

Together, they slowly walked out of the village and out towards the beach. They sat down in the sand, letting the waves roll past their feet. Clara gazed out to the ocean.

"I'm s…sorry Kirby. I've b…been …"

She didn't' finish her sentence. Kirby let her lean against his shoulder.

"It's okay Mom."

For a long time, they continued to look out over the waves and clear waters. Finally, Clara lifted her head and looked at Kirby.

"I…regret what I said…t…to your f…father." She said, choking back tears. "I…want to let him know that I didn't mean to say…what I…did."

"I'm sure he knows." Kirby said. "He wanted to do what was best for the both of us…even if the decision would leave us all separated."

Clara traced out a rough picture of their family, all smiling together in the sand when a sudden wave washed the sketch of Meta Knight away, leaving only her figure and Kirby's. She frowned.

Sighing, she turned back to the sea.

"When I w…was still in Yabui's place, Curio…came to visit me. Do y…you know what…he…said?"

Kirby looked puzzled. Out of all of the people he would have thought would come to try to cheer her up, Curio was not one of them.

"He t…told me of how once…every th…thousand years, a comet by the name of N…Nova would land on Popstar and…grant one wish…to the most desperate s…soul to change their life."

Kirby's eyes widened as she realized what she was saying.

"And it's been exactly a thousand years since its last visit?"

She nodded, a strange smile spread across her face. Kirby shook his head.

"Look, I miss Dad too but he had his reasons to leave Dreamland. We have to respect his decision."

"B…But don't you…want him…back?"

"I do but his duties lie elsewhere. He must lead the demonbeasts just like how I must lead the GSA."

Clara was silent for a while. She suddenly got up and walked away. Kirby called after his mother.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just w…want to be al…alone for a while!"

Kirby watched as Clara disappeared, leaving him alone as well on the beach.

* * *

"What's that?"

"It's…a falling star!"

"No wait, it's a comet!"

Dreamlanders and GSA soldiers gathered outside in the night air, staring in awe as a bright object came tumbling out of the clouds.

Kirby was patrolling the nearby fields and when he looked up, his eyes widened.

"Nova…"

He ran as fast as he could, the worry that his mother would make her wish and leave, not realizing she could be putting herself in danger. He nearly tripped in his haste as he bounded past farm fields and pastures. He jumped over one of the pasture fences and continued running. The bright object was getting closer to Dreamland now. It cut through the air like a knife and filled the night sky with its glow. He heard a mighty slam as it impacted the earth. The trees shook as it rolled to a stop in one of the many fields, the same one that Meta Knight had opened the gate to the Mirror World on.

Clara, of course, was already there. Her eyes reflected the shine of Nova's body. The shine gradually went away and everybody crowded around to see it. Nova's body resembled a giant pocket watch. A large crank poked out of his side along with a number of the other things including piano keys, weather vane, light bulb, and telescope. Its face was gold with fine details lining its rim. Above its left eye, a large gap exposed a cog wheel that turned slowly.

"What is it?" Someone asked.

Curio stepped forward as if he was an auctioneer selling off one of his finest piece.

"This is the comet Nova. Once every thousand years, Nova will fall from the heavens and grant one wish. But not just anyone can make a wish upon it," Curio said, noting the gleam in some of the crowd's eyes. "Only the most desperate soul with the desire to change their fate may make their wish."

A wave of mummers washed over the crowd. Curio turned to Clara.

"I think we all can agree who by far is the most desperate."

Everyone turned to her. The night they had spent, lying in bed without granted the chance to finally rest their weary bodies from her sobbing was still vivid in their minds. Clara felt her muscles unable to move as they locked her into place. Kirby gave her a gentle push forward.

"This is your chance Mom. Make your wish." He said quietly to her.

Slowly and hesitantly, she walked to the giant, mechanical comet. Her hand shook with uncertainty and excitement as she placed her hand on Nova. All at once, Nova's body parts began functioning again. The wheel spun faster as it pulled itself out of the ground. It floated into the air where it opened is gray blue eyes.

"Who has wakened Nova, granter of wishes, to change their destiny?" It said with a voice as magnificent as Kabu's with a more mechanical feel.

Clara had to tell herself not to fall over and stand tall.

"I...I have."

Nova's eyes looked down at her. The gray blue seemed to shine.

"For what reason have you called upon me?"

"To b…bring back my…love." Clara said, with slightly more confidence.

Nova closed its eyes. A low hum emitted from its body. The wheel changed directions and started turning the other direction.

"What is your wish?"

Clara looked directly at Nova as she brought her voice up from a quiet level to a more audible level.

"I…I wish…for you, Nova…to open the gate to the M…Mirror World."

Nova didn't say anything for a while. The crowd looked at each other. Finally, it said,

"I will grant your wish, however, whatever happens, whether you fall into the void between worlds or fail to bring back your love, would you regret your wish?"

Clara couldn't find words to say. She had thought that she would do anything to find Meta Knight and bring him back to Dreamland but what if she couldn't find him? Or what if something happened along the way? Would she regret her wish?

Finally, she shook her head in response. Although Nova's eyes were closed, it seemed to know her decision.

"Very well. I will open the gate to the Mirror World, land of silence…"

Nova's eyes opened, this time they glowed bright orange. The air around them swirled violently as if it was churning up a storm. The sky ripped as the gate opened. Wind blew past their faces, forcing them to get lower to the ground so they wouldn't blow away. Their eyes widened as the mirror-like surface appeared. Nova's clock chimed and the winds vanished at once.

"Journey onward but take this," Nova said as a small compartment opened up, dropping a small object into Clara's hands.

It was an hourglass beautifully crafted. Although it was standing upright, no sand fell down into its lower chamber.

"Once you step through the gate, the sands will begin to fall. Should this hourglass run out before you have completed your quest, the gate will close and all who venture in will fall into the void, never to been seen again by either worlds. It will show you how much time you have."

Clara nodded as her hand closed around the hourglass. It felt warm in her hand.

"T…thank you."

Nova closed its eyes as a great whirring sound filled the air. Its body began to glow as it spun like a top. Suddenly, the comet shot up into the air and returned to the starry sky.

Clara clutched the hourglass as she looked into the gate.

"Meta Knight, I'm coming!"

Kirby stopped her before she could enter it.

"Mom, who is going to go with you, surely you can't go alone and expect to find him? We don't even know how large the Mirror World is or how dangerous it is!"

"I'm going by myself, Kirby." She said strongly.

The look of determination on Clara's face worried Kirby. When it came to any decision making, Clara was a victim to panic and haste and proved to be a weak leader for the GSA. Right now, her decision could bring her to her death.

"No, if you are going, I will go with you as well."

"We will too." Sword and Blade said. "We swore that we would serve Sir Meta Knight for as long as we stand and breathe."

Fumu and Bun turned to their parents.

"Can we go along with them?"

"They may need our help!"

Parm and Memu looked uneasily at their children.

"You two just came home! We wanted to spend time with the two of you for a chance." Memu said. "And besides, Dreamland isn't at stake like last time when Knightmare was a threat."

Fumu and Bun fell silent. What their parents had said was true, they couldn't deny that. The last time, they had finally agreed to let the two go off with the others to fight Knightmare only because their friends would be in peril and they wanted to protect Kirby. Knuckle Joe and Sirica walked up to Parm and Memu.

"We're all family now, after all the hardships we've come through," Knuckle Joe said, rubbing his nose. "When your friends are in danger, you don't abandon them, you stick together."

"And we could really use their help. With Fumu's deep thinking and Bun's quick planning, we were able to defeat Knightmare and return home safe," Sirica added.

Parm and Memu looked at each other.

"Fumu. Bun. All we're going to say is this: we understand your want to help your friends but we want you two to promise use that you will stay safe and return home soon," Parm said slowly.

Then sighing, he said,

"We give you two our permission to go."

Fumu and Bun nearly burst out with their thanks. They hugged their parents one last time before they walked over to the gate. Dedede and Escargon came up to them.

"Don't forget about us!"

"Or me!" Tokori chirped.

One of the GSA soldiers stepped forward, looking directly at Kirby.

"Sir, who is going to lead us while you're gone?"

Kirby stopped. He hadn't given much thought to that.

"Didn't' Sgt. Kit Cosmos decide to come to Dreamland after he heard that we were going to set up base here for a while?"

"I am right here, at your commands sir!" A deep voice sounded out.

The dusty colored brown figure stepped out from the ranks of soldiers. He now wore dark black boots and the large GSA badge on his chest. The others had to smile a little. Though small, Kit Cosmos was a yeller. He could bark out commands like a true commander. His determination had pushed them forward when they had set off to defeat Knightmare for the first time.

Kirby walked over to him.

"Will you take my position until I return? I trust you to watch over Dreamland and to keep the soldiers well and trained."

"Yes sir!" Cosmos exclaimed.

He saluted and nodding in approval, Kirby turned back to the gate. Almost with the same team that had left Dreamland on their last expedition, they faced the gate. They turned to each other and stepped through.

* * *

They were falling. As soon as they had stepped through the gate, blackness surrounded them, only the gate gave off light. Although there was no other source of light, their bodies seemed to shine as if the sun was shining down upon them. They could see each other easily.

The gate became farther and farther away as they continued falling. Surprisingly, no wind rushed past their faces.

Suddenly, their bodies landed on a cushion of air and their falling rate slowed until they were gently drifted down.

"Meta Knight!" Clara called.

Only her echo answered her. Looking down, Fumu gasped.

"Look! It must be the bridge!"

Directly below them, a glowing bridge stretched out before them. The bridge was made entirely out of mirrors and reflected them as they landed. It had no railings but evenly spaced out columns added to its grand features. The bridge went on until it disappeared into the darkness. A floating lantern glowed a soft blue in the air.

As soon as they landed, the lantern started drifting away, moving up and down as if held by a breathing creature invisible to the others. The others looked at each other before following it.

Suddenly, a voice began singing. Its song was high as if sung by a young girl. Its eeriness made the others shiver.

"_Follow my light young travelers as you find your way,_

_Avoid all others that lure you away,_

_Take too long and stall,_

_We will lead you to your fall!"_

The song became louder as more and more voices were added to the song. The group found themselves surround by thousands and thousands of glowing lanterns, all exactly identical to the first lantern. The bridge seemed to end right in front of them and only a wide gap of darkness filled the space. They had to squint to see the other end of the bridge which glowed far away from where they were now.

The first lantern continued to drift away from them, over to the cluster of glowing orbs.

"The song! It's a warning! Don't lose track of the first lantern!" Fumu exclaimed!

The lanterns drifted in the air, each with their own paths. The others soon realized the danger. Once they lost track of the first lantern, they would never find it again. Knuckle Joe cautiously stepped out into what looked like thin air. It was solid under his feet. He called out to the others.

"The bridge is still here, just invisible. We have to hurry if we're going to catch up with the lantern!"

The others nodded and they started down the dark part of the bridge. Lanterns flew in circles around them as if they were dancing and some even swooped down to try to distract them. Clara ran directly behind the first lantern. Whenever it would take a new direction, she would do the same.

A lantern swung out and knocked Dedede off his feet. He landed heavily and the others could feel the powerful vibrations beneath their feet. Escargon pulled the penguin back up and they ran onward.

Kirby, Sword, and Blade were dealing with issues of their own. The lanterns gathered up in a large cluster and then made a sweeping motion to push Kirby and the two apprentices off of the bridge. Kirby drew out Galaxia and released a sword beam. The lanterns seemed to laugh.

"_You only hurt yourself when you destroy the ground between you and the void!"_

Sword drew out her sword and turned to the pink Star Warrior.

"Don't use the sword beam here. We can't afford to fall through when we only have one chance!"

Kirby nodded and leapt over the gap he made with Galaxia.

Bun looked up ahead. The first lantern had taken a longer path by going around the area directly in front of him. It made sense to him that he would just cut through and stay on track. He stepped out and fell into open air. He screamed as he began falling. Sirica grabbed on to his arm and pulled him back up.

"Keep track of that first one. It's showing us the path where it's safe to walk on!"

The others ran, desperately trying to keep up as the lantern seemed to speed up. Out of all of the lanterns clustered here, only one would take them safely across.

As more and more lanterns flew by them, the group soon lost track of the lantern. The rest of them seemed to laugh at their efforts. They were all lost.

They stopped, trying to figure out which one was the one they were looking for. Dedede suddenly shouted out!

"The bridge! It's disintegrating!"

As soon as he said that, the others felt it too. This was what the lanterns had meant by 'take too long and stall, we will lead you to your fall'. The bridge was dissolving behind them. If they waited, they would fall into the void Meta Knight had talked about. Panic swept over the group.

Tokori flew into the air, partly because he didn't' want anyone trying to grab on to him when the bridge disappeared and because he was trying to locate the lantern. He glanced around. At first, they all looked the same to him when he caught a lantern floating away from the rest in the corner of his beady black eyes.

"I see it!" He cried. "It's over there!"

The group immediately turned their heads and they caught sight of it. They ran towards it, luckily not falling into the void in their haste. Soon, they were right behind it once again and the other side of the bridge came closer like a lighted beacon.

They leapt towards it, landing on the lighted part of the bridge. Dedede fell to his hands and hugged the bridge.

"I thought we were all going to die!"

Fumu looked back at the glowing lanterns that were fading away from sight.

"I guess that's what Sir Meta Knight meant when he said 'many won't make it past the bridge'."

The lantern hovered in the air for a moment before it suddenly glowed brighter. The others had to cover their eyes as it became blinding. They could faintly see the silhouette of a human. The light faded away and their eyes widened. The lantern had changed into a human girl. The first time they had ever seen a human was when they met Kamira on their last adventure that unfortunately had not made it back. This girl was ghostly pale like sunlight was something make-believe for her. Long strands of pure black hair flowed down her sides. Two thin eyebrows highlighted her piercing black eyes. Her thin lips were as straight as a line. She held the lantern at her side.

"You have made it across a region where many fall. I was one of those fallen souls. I came upon the same path you did and had my life taken by the void. Now my name is long forgotten and I wander through the darkness forever more. I guide other souls across the bridge, taking travelers like you from the Dimensional World and over to the Mirror World." She said slowly.

The other's eyes, even Knuckle Joe and Dedede, held some pity for the spirit. The others realized it had been her who had sung the song.

She turned to Bun.

"You would have joined us had your friend not pull you back on to the bridge. I had been alone. I had nobody to save my soul."

Bun shuddered under her unblinking gaze. Finally, the spirit looked into the darkness where the rest of the bridge disappeared into.

"I cannot go any further. The other side will take you to the threshold of the Mirror World. Remember this: you will not be walking along this path again on your way home. You will ascend to the Tower of Shadows where you will climb the Mirror Stairs. It will lead you to the gate."

The others nodded and thanked her before turning to face the darkness. Just as they were about to continue down the bridge, she called out after them. Her face changed from its expressionless form to a sadder one. Her voice held a hint of her begging.

"Go to the Mirror World and find our names, the names of those who fell to the void. It will release our spirits and we will be reborn back in the Dimensional World. We are counting on you all."

She vanished before they could reply. They were left alone in the darkness. Kirby turned back to the road to the Mirror World.

"Perhaps we will be able to help them but for now, we must proceed. Mom, may I see the hourglass?"

She held it out for him. He examined it. Only a few flecks of sand had fallen.

"By the looks of it, this hourglass isn't really an _hour_glass_._ It runs much slower. It could take almost a week for this to run out. That's a good thing for us!"

He returned it back to Clara who put it away. They walked down the bridge. No other trials awaited them. They finally reached the end where a large arch stood tall. Directly under it was a gate like the one they had walked through to enter the bridge. They looked each other before they stepped into the Mirror World.

* * *

**A/N: **At first, I was going to cut off at when they entered the gate but decided to add more.

I have never played Kirby Super Star Ultra before in my life but I LOVE Galacta Knight and Nova a lot! I do like Marx as well but I don't' think I'm going to add him. Too many characters to keep track of.

I also debated whether I should include Sgt. Kit Cosmos on the trip but I think it would be better off having him watch over Dreamland and the GSA troops while the others are gone.

So now, the group has crossed over the bridge between worlds, almost losing Bun to the void. They still have yet to actually get their first glimpse of the Mirror World but they will soon! :D

Please review!


	4. Chapter IV: The Mirror Tower

**A/N: **Took a little while longer than I would have like but here it is!

Finally, the group enters the Mirror World where they hope to find Meta Knight and the demonbeasts.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 4: The Mirror Tower--**

The group stared in awe at the wondrous sight. They were on a wide cliff that stood high above the Mirror World. Below them, tall forests blooming with lush greens stretched out far into the land. To their left, an ocean seemingly with no end covered that region. The group could see sparkling glaciers in the distance, framing the Mirror World.

A tower, entirely made of mirrors, stood straight up, as if it was reaching for the starry sky. The group noticed a strange thing: although it was night time, the half of the land with the mirror tower seemed to shine brightly even though there was no sun to shine down upon it. The other half appeared to be under a heavy veil of darkness. They could see the shadowy figure of another distant tower in that region.

Suddenly, a large bell tolled. Its thunderous booms echoed throughout the land. They turned towards the tower where the bells seemed to have come from.

"Let's go there. Maybe we will find Dad." Kirby suggested, pointing towards the mirror tower.

They made their way down the cliff and into the forests. Each leaf glowed with a bright radiance. Crystal-like flowers bloomed on the vines hanging from the trees. Most of the sights and smells around them were familiar; however, there was no wind. It felt strange to not feel it blow on their faces. There was also only silence. All around them, the only sound they could hear was their footsteps. No birds. No ocean waves. No insects. Only silence.

"Do…you think I…s…should call for Meta Knight?" Clara whispered.

"Maybe not," Kirby whispered back, keeping an eye on the trees. "We just got here and we don't want to attract unwanted attention."

They continued on. Even in the dark, the plants lighted the path for them. Small spores drifted in the air around them like the lanterns on the bridge between worlds.

All of a sudden, the trees around them became different than the ones they had just walked past. These trees were all completely encased in mirrors and they seemed lifeless although mirror-like leaves grew on them. It seemed kind of eerie in the way.

The air around them suddenly filled with whispering. It seemed to come from the trees and plants around them.

"_Travelers from the Dimensional World…" _They seemed to whisper.

The group froze until the murmuring died away.

Fumu whipped her head around. She thought she had just heard a rustle nearby. Even though there was not sound, she still wasn't sure if it was her mind playing tricks or not. She glanced into the stillness around them. Nothing. She continued walking on. She felt a shiver run down her spine. It was like someone, or something was watching them.

They continued onward, glancing around at the scenery. It must have been another hour because the bell tolled out again. They felt the rumble of the earth beneath them with each toll. They sky seemed to lighten as morning in the Mirror World was drawing near.

Suddenly, there was another rustle. Fumu knew she had heard it. She stopped and held a hand out, signaling for the others to stop. They heard it too. Just as they were about to draw their weapons, another rustle came. They saw shadowy figures with a single glowing eye weave in and out of the trees towards them. Kirby drew Galaxia as Sword, Blade, Dedede, and Sirica drew their weapons as well.

They watched as more and more shadowy figures appeared in a wide circle around the group. Large black tentacle-like roots snake their way towards them through the mirror-like grass. Blade swung his sword down on one as it was about to coil around his waist. It recoiled back and suddenly, the battle began.

A large head of some creature flew through the air with no body connected along with it. It landed on the ground after it had missed Dedede and snaked back towards the penguin. Its eye sockets had nothing in them except for small red dots as its pupils. It leapt into the air and opened its jaws wider than the arm span of Dedede. For a second, the penguin king couldn't do anything but watch as it came closer and closer, ready to bite down into his neck, but finally, some force made him lift his hammer high and swing down with all of his force. The creature's jaw snapped with a sickly crack as it slammed down into the ground.

It lay motionless for a moment before the eyes blazed red again and it circled Dedede. Faster and faster, it swam through the grass until it suddenly came at him again. Dedede was too late to draw his hammer back and the creature clacked its teeth together as it pounced. The penguin screamed as he covered his head with his arms as a loud bang sounded. He looked up at Sirica, who had fired her weapon as the creature and had punctured it with a powerful shot. The creature crumbled and disintegrated into the ground.

"Looks like it brought more friends with it!" Knuckle Joe said as he gazed out into the trees.

Forming a defensive ring around Fumu, Bun, Clara, and Escargon, the others drew their weapons as they faced the rest of the strange creatures. Each one of the monsters looked like something from a horror movie. Sword slashed through a floating eye that had lunged towards the group and the fluids burst out, nearly covering everyone in the process.

Knuckle Joe threw a vicious punch at a spider like one that tried sinking its fangs into his arm. The attack knocked it backwards and its monstrous body toppled upon its skinny legs. Knuckle Joe slammed his fist into its skull and leapt off before the creature could take a swipe at him. It slowly got up, shadowy blood pouring out from its cracked head, and shot a large string of black. It missed the group and struck a large mirror tree, making the fragile structure shatter. The group had to cover themselves as the shards rained down on them, cutting at their arms and legs. The monsters surrounding them gained a few feet closer as the group was distracted and unable to fight temporarily.

Blade raised his head at the last moment before a monster with blade-like arms sliced his head off. He rolled to one side, and ducked as it swiped at the air just above his red plume. He raised his sword and blocked its next attack and was nearly pushed on to his back by the ferocity of its power. Sword stepped beside him. Together, they raised their swords and charged. Unable to fend off both of their blows, the monster pushed Blade away as the apprentice cut a small wound in its body and was struck by Sword's powerful blow. It disintegrated as it fell back towards the trees.

"What are these things?" Kirby shouted in desperation as he warded off a blow from the monster he was fighting.

Sirica and Knuckle Joe got back to back as they defended themselves against the new hordes of monsters forming from what looked like the middle of nowhere. The monsters had drained most of their energy out and their weary eyes glanced at the endless sea of shadowy creatures. Suddenly, the ground shook below them as trees around them crashed to the ground. They all looked up as a monstrous figure appeared, towering above them all. It resembled a lion with shadowy tentacle-like fur and mane. The mirror trees and grass around it blackened and crack although it didn't' even touch them, as if it had sucked the life out of them. It opened its fearsome jaw and several large strands of shadowy substances crashed to the ground, nearly missing the group.

"RUN!" Kirby shouted.

All of them ran for their life. They heard the cracking of the glass-like grass below them. Looking behind them, Kirby saw the lion monster weaving swiftly between the trees like a large serpent. It never touched the ground. It flowed smoothly like a river and came closer and closer to them. Kirby could see that they would not be able to outrun it. They would have to stand and fight.

Kirby stopped and faced it. Drawing Galaxia, he held it high above his head. He leapt into the air and swung it down hard. The sacred sword created a powerful sword beam that cut through the air and towards the monster like a giant wave of light. The creature weaved easily around it and continued coming. The others had come to a halt a little ways off.

"Keep running!" Kirby shouted over his shoulder.

"No! We will stand and fight with you!" Sword called back.

Kirby backed away from the creature and closer to his friends. They were now at the outskirts of the forest. Regular grass grew underfoot and a large field rested behind them. The group ran out to open land where the monsters could not have the advantage of ambush on them.

Just as they turned back to face the trees, large tentacles flowed out of the forest like a large wave and reach out towards them. They watched as the creatures body rose above the trees and looked down upon them. It opened its mouth in a silent roar and more of the shadowy strands fell to the forest. Now out of the darker half's border, the light made the creature even more fearsome than it already was. The shadowy particles on its body seemed to flow off and disappear into the air around it. They clumped together to form another tentacle that shot down towards the group. They threw themselves to the side as it ripped through the ground with a powerful force.

Just before Kirby could draw Galaxia out and hope to finish the monster off, a tentacle struck the ground in front of him, causing him to fly into the air and land several feet away. Galaxia was knocked out of his hand and skidded across the ground away from the Star Warrior. Fumu screamed as a tentacle coiled around her waist and dragged her towards the trees. She struggled as another smaller tentacle wrapped around her arm and partially around her face.

Bun looked down at the hilt of his sword that poked out from its scabbard. After they had gotten back from Knightmare Enterprises, Meta Knight had given him this sword and was going to train him to wield it. He drew it out and held it in both hands. It felt heavy and strange for his hands. The sharp blade reflected his sister being dragged closer to the monster. He held it to the side and charged. He leapt into the air as a tentacle attempted to knock him away and sliced through another one. As he got closer to his sister, more and more tentacles blocked his path. He made an awkward flip to avoid an attacking strand of shadows and landed heavily on the ground, nearly falling. He grabbed his sister's hand and held her back. With his spare hand, he fended off a few attacks and made some of his own on the creature. He slashed through the tentacles holding his sister and freed her. Kirby ran towards them, now after he had regained Galaxia and let loose a sword beam. It knocked the creature back and several trees shattered under its weight. A tentacle struck out at the pink ball and he retaliated, chopping through the shadowy strand.

"Get Fumu out of here!" He shouted.

Bun nodded and helped his sister up. The two ran out from the monster's grasps back to the others. Kirby leapt into the air and called down the last of his energy. He released it and the light shot down towards the monster, slicing through its lower jaw and body. The shadows that formed it, disintegrated and the tentacles drew back towards the forest. Kirby ran towards the others and faced the suddenly silent trees. They saw the figures of other monsters, lingering in the trees, but didn't' leave the cover of the forest. They disappeared one by one until only darkness could be seen from under the trees.

Finally, the group collapsed in a heap in the middle of the field. Clara examined Fumu. Her arms, body, and face had large black marks where the monster had touched her. It looked like the darkness was eating away at her. Fumu had to gasp out to breathe as the marks throbbed like a burning fire. Clara tried to use her healing powers on the girl, but it only seemed to worsen Fumu's pain.

"What…happened to me?" She managed to say between gasps.

"I…d..don't know!" Clara said, eyes wide with worry. "I've n…never seen a…anything like… this before!"

Fumu suddenly cried out in pain before her eyes closed and she collapsed to the ground. Bun ran to his sister's side and tried to shake her awake. Her body seemed to be limp. Bun felt his body shake as he desperately called to her.

"Sis!"

The others watched sadly as Bun continued calling to his sister and received no response from her. Bun turned to Clara.

"Can't you do anything for her?"

"By the looks of it, we should find someone here in the Mirror World. Maybe if we find Meta Knight, he could help her or at least find someone who can." Knuckle Joe said, glancing towards the tower.

The forest they had just come out of was on the border between the dark zone with the shadowy tower and the mirror tower's half. It also seemed to be the only mirror forest. The forests further away looked like regular ones back at home. It was strange why the trees changed drastically when they were in the same part of the land.

Just as they were about to search for help, they saw figures come towards them. Drawing their weapons out, they prepared themselves to fight.

The figures stopped about a yard away from them. These were different than the ones they had fought in the mirror forest. Some of them had large furry bodies while other had scaly ones. They all wore distorted masks with a bright gem that resembled an eye at its center. Lines ran down the masks in intricate designs. They all stood silent in a ring around the group.

A large furry bodied one that seemed strangely familiar got up on to its hind legs and pointed a large claw at Fumu. The other figures seemed to step away from the girl, as if afraid. The furry one pointed at Sword and Blade to carry her. Still holding their weapons, the group looked at the figures. The others turned to Kirby for orders.

"You can put away your weapons. These ones don't look like that they're going to bring us any harm."

The furry one walked over to Kirby and seemed to draw things out in the air with its claw. Kirby looked at it, confused.

"I don't understand."

The figure stopped. Slowly, it turned back to the tower. It seemed to be directing them to walk towards it. The group walked with the figures, watching them with widened eyes. Sirica tried talking to them.

"Hey! We need help! Do you know where we can find some kind of doctor around here?"

The figures turned to her as they continued walking but said nothing. All of them were completely silent. Sirica tired again to no success. She gave up and continued walking.

They came to a wide metal bridge that stretched over the vast city before them. It was incomplete and several buildings had exposed frames. Neon lights flashed vibrantly and the city had a futuristic feel to it. Other figures like the ones leading them stopped what they were doing and turned to face the travelers. They all stood in stony silence as they watched the group past by them. The others shivered from under the unblinking stare of the single gem eyes. The figures kept walking, however, towards the mirror tower that soared up to the heavens. The group followed them.

The tower was entirely made of mirrors like they had been able to figure out as they first saw it. Towards the top, six large slabs of mirrors circled around it, slowly. Small mirror like balls circled the tower below the slabs as if patrolling the tower and the bridge. Around the base of the tower was a wide ravine. The tower seemed to descend down into the darkness without end. The figures lead them across the bridge leading to it. The bridge's railings were like works of art themselves with their thin and delicate design that twisted around the bridge in large spirals.

They reached the giant door to the tower and the guards there opened it and stepped aside.

At first, nothing could be seen in the darkness but soon, mirror-like tiles lit the path for them. The doors closed behind them and they were suddenly surrounded by a wall of darkness. Like how it was on the bridge, they could only see the ground beneath them and each other. They continued walking and mirror stairs appeared before them, leading up into the blackness. They made their way up them, occasionally glancing around at the darkness, trying to find other objects of any kind.

As they reached the top, the figures lead them through another set of doors, only this time; it was beautifully decorated and seemed grander. It opened by itself and the group walked in.

The room appeared to be a throne room. Large columns made of mirrors floated in the air on both sides of the tile walkway. A figure on a bean bag like chair that reflected like a mirror, stood up and walked down the small steps towards them. The figures bowed down as it walked towards them. Its body was smaller and about the same size as Clara. It was round and had a large, flat mask with a single gold jewel that acted as its eye. It seemed to look directly at Clara.

It reached out towards her, gloves gently running down her cheek. She screamed. Kirby grabbed Galaxia and sliced through the creature's mask. The jewel flashed orange as the figure fell back, looking directly at Kirby, almost in disbelief.

The tower's bells tolled all at once, all of the masked figures began changing. The other's jaws dropped as they watched the furry figure that had tried to communicate with Kirby transform into the figure of Wolfwrath. Other familiar demonbeasts appeared as their masks dissolved and their bodies change into their regular forms. They watched as the figure that had touched Clara began to change. They gasped as Meta Knight's form took the place of the figure. A large slash ran down his unmasked face where Kirby, not knowing he was attacking his father and had tried to protect his mother, had cut through. He looked at them for a moment before his gold eyes turned dark blue and he ran away before they could call after him and disappeared into the darkness.

If these were the demonbeasts, what had happened to them all, to distort their figures into shadowy creatures?

* * *

"Meta Knight!" Clara shouted.

No reply came back besides her echo. Wolfwrath slowly padded over to them.

"_I was surprised to see you all here in the Mirror World." _She said before glancing up in the direction Meta Knight had ran.

"What happened to you all?" Escargon asked.

"_We became the residents of the Mirror World that is what happened. Here, the solar hours are like day time hours for you and we transform into the figures you saw during the lunar hours."_

"Solar hours and lunar hours?"

"_It's what the day is counted by here. We do not use 'morning' or evening' any longer."_

"But what happened to you all? Did you become cursed or something?"

"_It is merely from living here. Overtime, the same would happen to you guys if you stayed here long enough."_

Clara continued gazing into the darkness.

"Please! T…take me to Meta Knight. I…didn't…know."

Wolfwrath nodded and trotted off towards the darkness. They followed close behind as tiles appeared and showed the path. They soon came to a room where a large pool of crystal clear water drifted. Meta Knight was at the side of it, gazing into it. The icy blue glow shone on his face. Clara slowly walked towards him. She stopped about a yard away from him.

"Meta Knight…I…I'm sorry…I didn't mean what I said back in Dreamland…I'm sorry that I d…didn't recognize you either."

Meta Knight looked away from the pool but did not turn around to face her. His wings wrapped around him.

"You thought I was a monster…you screamed when you saw me…" He said quietly.

Clara's hands ran down his wings gently. She closed her eyes.

"I d…didn't know…"

Bun walked to Meta Knight and hesitantly asked,

"Sir Meta Knight? We need help! It's about Fumu…"

The knight turned as Sword and Blade carefully set Fumu down on the ground beside him. His eyes widened as he immediately stood up, backing away from the girl.

"She's…"

The black marks had covered her entire left arm now and a good portion of her face. She now somewhat resembled the monsters that had attacked them. Meta Knight shook his head.

"There is nothing I can do about it…nothing anyone can do. If you want, I can find her a nice burial place."

"WHAT?" Bun shouted. "She's going to die?"

Meta Knight looked away sadly.

"I watched many of the demonbeasts that touch infected ones soon after become infected themselves. They don't' live very long and many of the graves outside in the Mirror Lands are already filled."

Bun stared in horror at his sister.

"There must be something you can do!" Bun pleaded.

He tugged at Meta Knight's gloves. The knight looked at him, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry…"

"What happened to Fumu and all of the demonbeasts? Is it some kind of sickness?" Knuckle Joe asked.

"It's from the Dark Half, that's for sure." Meta Knight said, eyes flashing red. "The monsters that roam through the border are responsible. Whenever they launch an attack, any demonbeasts or anyone for that matter, gets the black marks by touching them and it soon spreads around like the plague. I had to isolate one entire part of the city and leave them to die off because of that."

There was only silence as Meta Knight went on.

"I'll do what I can for your sister, but do not expect any miracles."

Meta Knight had Sword and Blade, since they had already carried Fumu, take her to a large chamber where several infected demonbeasts were all encased in crystals. They took her to an empty one and Meta Knight directed the two apprentices to lower her on top of it. Almost like a watery surface, she sank into it and the outer diamond hardened, protecting her from letting the black marks spread. Bun turned back to Meta Knight.

"You sure this is going to help her?"

"It will slow the black marks and hopefully preserve her life for a little longer."

He ordered Sword and Blade to take their gloves off to be burned. He gave them new ones and he led them away. He looked back to see Bun, staring down at his sister. She seemed to be having less pain now that the crystal was around her.

"You can visit her any time you like," Meta Knight called. "But for now, come back up, there are many things that you all must know."

Reluctantly, he left his sister and followed the group back to the main levels of the tower.

* * *

Meta Knight brought them to what looked like a large banquet hall. There was a long table with hundreds of chairs on either side of it. He had them sit towards the back where his chair, the one with the large jewel at its top was. Servants stood by the table, awaiting orders. Meta Knight quietly explained to the demonbeasts that the others were not blood drinkers and would want something else. They nodded and hurried away. One remained to pour Meta Knight a large wine glass of red liquid. The others looked at it.

"What is that?"

"Blood, what else?"

"From who?"

"You mean from where? " He asked, lifting glass to examine it. "This came from the blood wells. This was one of the reasons why I chose the Mirror World to move the demonbeasts to. I can create oceans full of blood for my kind with a mere thought and no one would have to sacrifice their lives for us."

They others watched as the servants returned, a large mixing bowl of blood for Wolfwrath and food that looked like salads for the others.

"Go on, eat. You all must be famished. You all look at me as if I gave you a bowl full of poison."

As they ate, they explained what had happened since Meta Knight left. He listened without a word until they were finished. Servers brought in other food as well from fruits to fish and side dishes to desserts. Clara turned to him.

"Can y…you please, explain why you..left us all…so suddenly."

Meta Knight leaned back in his chair. A frown formed on his face.

"I told you everything of why I left. What more could you ask? I left to guide my people and lead them to a land where we would never be hated again. Here, I could support the entire population to a single thought. The world that you see around you right now was all created by me. The Mirror World that Nova opened the gate to, is the one based on my thoughts and dreams. There are actually billions of Mirror Worlds out there but only one bridge between worlds. "

Nobody said anything for a while, finally Meta Knight said,

"You all must leave. Clara, may I see the hourglass?"

She handed it over to him and he examined it.

"You do understand what is going to happen once the sands run out?"

"Yes."

"What did that girl on the bridge tell you again? About where the exit for you guys would be?"

They tried to remember what the ghost-like girl had told them. Their memory of her seemed to have faded since they had to fend off the monsters in the mirror forest. Finally, Sword remembered.

"Something about the Tower of Shadows. Is something wrong?"

They all turned to see Meta Knight's face become pale.

"Y..you sure she said 'Tower of Shadows'?"

They nodded and Meta Knight's eyes widened. They watched as he sank back into his chair.

"What is it Dad?"

"The Tower of Shadows is within the Dark Half's boundaries. I have no power over what happens in there. The tower is a reflection of the Mirror Tower that we are in now but I have no idea why it formed or how. It just is there and the monsters you saw come from that region and dwell in the Mirror Forest. If that is where your exit home is…"

He turned to Wolfwrath. They exchanged a private conversation for a long time using their minds. They watched as Wolfwrath growled after a while and Meta Knight broke off of the metal connection.

"We finally agreed that you all should be assorted through as quickly as possible. I, however, said that should go along with you all which Wolfwrath disagreed with." He said as he looked directly at them. "I am going to find out what has happened to my kin and find the cure for it. I will never know by hiding in the Mirror Tower for eternity. I _will _go."

* * *

Meta Knight had shown them where they could stay at in the tower. Their jaws dropped as they saw each of the bedrooms. These rooms, unlike the rest of the tower, were not hidden within darkness. They had solid walls and large windows and balconies. They each could have their own bed fit for a king. He had left them to do what they pleased for the time being. Kirby followed his father as they walked up the stairs to the very top of the tower.

"Wow. Dad! What a view!"

They had just reached the top of the stairs in out into the tower's highest point. The view here was glorious. The entire land could be seen stretching out from here. At the center of the top deck, a large mirror with golden wings floated in the air over a small platform. It had a golden crown and four stars at its side. Meta Knight smiled at his son's face of amazement when he saw the mirror.

"This is the Central Mirror. From here, I can see anything I want from what is happening in Dreamland to memories and dreams. I watched you and your mother for a while here."

"What happened?"

"I became lonely. I watched you two from here and I thought it would be no different than if I was with you but I was wrong, I could not replace that feeling of happiness. I felt trapped and isolated. Although I am not entirely alone here since I have all of my kind here with me, I was not happy here. I couldn't bear to see you or your mother any longer. It only worsened my loneliness when I did."

Kirby nodded in understandment. He looked through the Central Mirror into Dreamland. He could see the GSA troops practicing drills under Sgt. Kit Cosmos command. He smiled as he saw one soldier get shouted at by the furry gray puffball. Kirby turned away from the mirror and walked over to his father at the railings. They looked towards the shadowy tower in the distance.

"I had a bad feeling of that tower ever since it formed," Meta Knight said.

They gazed at it for a while longer before Kirby said,

"If you were able to create blood reservoirs for the demonbeasts, what else are you able to do?"

"Anything, as long as I create it in this Half. In the Dark Half, I have no control. Here, if I so choose, I could create another mountain or an ocean with a single thought."

"Could you warp to the other side?"

"No. I would only be able to make it as far as the border. Anywhere past the Mirror Forest is beyond my reach."

Meta Knight put his hand on Kirby's shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be going to bed or something?"

"I don't feel tired."

"You will."

"I don't."

"I'm your father and I say you go to bed NOW!"

Slowly, Kirby walked back to the stairs. Meta Knight watched until Kirby disappeared into the tower. He turned back to the Tower of Shadows. He didn't want to admit it but he felt his body shake thinking about the Dark Half. Something about it wasn't right…

* * *

**A/N: **Yayz. In the Mirror World now!

Fumu is not going to be doing a whole lot in her condition. The others will have to find a way to cure her of the marks soon before her entire body becomes engulfed by it.

I decided to name the mirror the Central Mirror instead of the Amazing Mirror just because.

Please review!


	5. Chapter V: A New Problem

**A/N: **Sorry for the wait for this chapter to finally come. I was really busy over the last week and was working my head off to finish the projects my crazy science teacher keeps making us do. Enough about me…

Meta Knight has yet another problem to get the group back to Dreamland in time.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 5: A New Problem--**

Clara blinked as a stream of light fell across her face. She was in the large bedroom she and Meta Knight had shared for the night. As events returned to her, she turned to Meta Knight, who was still sleeping on his side of the bed. She realized that she must have slept for a long time since the knight was in his solar hours form, the form she recognized.

As she sat up, Meta Knight shifted and opened his gold eyes.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked.

He leaned back against the pillows and Clara snuggled closer.

"I s…suppose…"

Meta Knight put his arm around her and neither of them said a word for a while. Clara bit down on her lip. Only one thought echoed through her mind that worried her. Finally, Clara said,

"Meta Knight?"

"Yes?"

"T…there's…something I w…want to t…tell you…but I'm…afraid to."

"Is something wrong?" Meta Knight asked as he suddenly sat up. "You don't ever have to be afraid to say anything, Clara. I am always here for you."

Clara sank slightly under the covers. She closed her blue eyes.

"I'm…pregnant."

Meta Knight's eyes flashed orange in surprise before they changed to light blue. However, they turned light green soon after as he was in deep thought.

"When did you realize this?"

"Y…yesterday…I didn't feel so g…good and I thought it…was just from the trip h…here but I realized…that I really am pregnant."

Meta Knight slumped against the pillows. Clara looked at him in concern.

"Aren't…you h…happy?"

"I am. I am happier than you would imagine, being the father of another child very soon. But, do you realize what danger I put you in?"

Clara looked at him in confusion. He held out his hand.

"May I see the hourglass?"

Clara took the small object out and Meta Knight turned it over in his glove. Only a small amount of sand had fallen since they had arrived at the Mirror Tower's bridge.

"Do you realize that even if you were able to reach the exit of the Mirror World in time, you will become weaker and weaker with you carrying the baby until the journey will become impossible for you to make? For you, there is even less time. And if that baby is born here, both you _and _the baby would die from the Mirror World's effects. The urgency for you all to return to Dreamland is even greater now."

Clara was speechless. She looked at her husband in with a new worried look. Meta Knight gently placed a glove on her expanding stomach.

"I won't let that happen to you Clara or our baby; I won't let you die. I will find a way to get you back as fast as possible."

She smiled a little and he helped her out of bed. Meta Knight put his armor and cape on before he joined Clara out in the hall.

"Sh…should we…tell…the others? They w…would question why…we must leave so s…soon."

"No," Meta Knight said quietly. "It's not their concern as of now. Besides, I do not wish to trouble Kirby any further. For now, it will be just between you and me."

Clara nodded and the two disappeared down the hall.

* * *

Everyone else was at the table when Meta Knight and Clara arrived. Most looked like they had slept well except for Knuckle Joe and Bun, who was still worried about his sister. Meta Knight turned to Knuckle Joe as a servant seated the knight at the head of the table.

"Did you sleep well?"

"The bed's too soft for my liking," Knuckle Joe said. "I would have preferred a rock."

"Lucky for you, you will have plenty of chances to sleep on hard surfaces. We will be leaving today."

"Today?" Everyone said at once.

Clara glanced at him nervously but Meta Knight did not return the gaze. He faced the others.

"You all must return to Dreamland as soon as possible. If we wait any longer, I do not know if we will reach the Tower of Shadows before the hourglass runs out."

Lololo and Lalala, who were with the others and had been surprised with the other's appearance in the Mirror World, turned to Meta Knight.

"Who will go with you, Prince?"

"Surely you cannot go alone without guards!"

"As you two are my advisors, I will have the two of you as well as Wolfwrath to join us. I do not need any more protection than that."

Wolfwrath suddenly appeared out of the darkness, eyes glowing.

"_That's it? You can't count on those two little cream puff advisors to protect you! Without you, your people would fall to chaos's clutches!"_

Lololo and Lalala began arguing about not being able to defend when Meta Knight silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"I am not a helpless kitten. I can protect myself as I have done before just fine. I thank you for your concerns Wolfwrath, but I do not require any more guards in service to me."

Wolfwrath slammed her front paws on the table, making plates and glass fly into the air. The entire table leaned towards her side from the weight she was pressing on it.

"_Every last one of your people from the youngest to the eldest wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice their lives for yours. Maybe before you only had to think about yourself, but now you have an entire kingdom and all of your people to think about. I will not allow you to go off without even the slightest concern for you safety. I will personally pick out guards for you if you are so unwilling." _

Meta Knight stood up and placed his gloves down on the table with a powerful force. He and Wolfwrath spent the next few minutes arguing privately through their minds. The others exchanged glances as the wolf at one point growled out and Meta Knight tightening his fist. Finally, Meta Knight spoke.

"I told you before, I am the ruler here. I can have you executed for you arguing with me. I spent my life defending myself and I will continue to do so."

"_Do you not realize where you are walking into blindly? You are going to the Dark Half! None of us have ever gotten any closer to it than the Mirror Forest. Do you really expect to make it to the Tower of Shadows when the place is brimming with those cursed creatures?"_

With that, Wolfwrath padded off and disappeared back into the darkness. Meta Knight slumped down into his chair.

"Are you all right, Prince?" Lalala said as she drifted closer to him.

"I'm just tired of all this royalty stuff and being called 'Prince' all the time. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the life I led before."

No one said anything for a while until Kirby spoke out.

"So Dad? About the journey, what path will we take?"

"The path that cuts across the Mirror Forest is risky to take. I believe that what would be best for us to do is to take a longer path that goes around the Mirror Forest. The only drawback however, is that in the time that we have, it is very possible that none of you will ever make it to the Tower of Shadows. I fear that it could take us too long."

"What about my sis?" Bun asked, suddenly looking up from the table. "We can't just leave her!"

"If you want me to take her out of the crystal and let the marks spread and possibly infect the rest of us, then I have nothing else to say. I, however, believe that if we can somehow lift the curse, we can cure my demonbeasts _and _your sister. She would have a chance if we did it that way."

"But she would be left behind! How would she make up the distance if the hourglass is almost out of sand?"

Meta Knight looked at the boy, unable to answer to that. He bit down on his lip as he tried to find something that could solve the problem. Bun turned away and looked at the ground. He realized that Meta Knight didn't know what could be done for his sister. Finally, Meta Knight found words to say.

"That is why we must leave as soon as possible and hope that we can lift the curse off swiftly and get your sister back."

Meta Knight stood up and ushered the others to follow him. Confused, they left the banquet hall and walked with the knight down a long walkway of mirror tiles before suddenly stopping at a large door with a large gem on the front.

"I have decided to bring one of our fallen friends with us. This is the doors to the Spirit halls. The spirits of fallen heroes from the Dimensional World reside here, spending eternity in peace. Some you will recognize but keep in mind that they will not be able to see nor hear you. Each one of them rest in their own dream world which their soul created for them. They do not see other souls that are not part of their dream world."

The doors opened and they walked in hesitantly. At first, it seemed like the hall was deserted, the only sound they were able to hear was their own breathing. Gradually, they heard them. Like soft whispers of laughter, more and more added their voices and the others gasped as the spirits appeared before their eyes. Each figure was transparent with a soft blue outlining them and they all held the forms of children. All of the ones they saw in the room were smiling and laughing as they drifted past them, completely unaware of the group or the other spirits.

As they began walking again, Sirica and Knuckle Joe suddenly froze on the spot. In front of the group were the figures of Jecra, Knuckle Joe's father, and Garlude, Sirica's mother. The two watched the younger forms of their parents as they drifted past, Garlude laughing as she chased Jecra. Siica reached a hand out to her mother's transparent hands but Meta Knight gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Where she is now is a peaceful place. Do you wish to disturb her well earned rest?"

Sirica silently shook her head and watched as Garlude and Jecra disappeared among the other souls before slowly continuing down the hall with the others.

Dedede was able to point out some of the cappies that had lived in Dreamland for a long time as they walked past more figures. Mirrors floated in the air, each showing a different dream world of a spirit. Clara gasped as she saw Sir Arthur's figure in one mirror, reading a book along with SailorDee. The two were a lot smaller than the group had remembered them since they were now in the forms of what they looked like when they were children. Sir Arthur wasn't wearing his armor and resembled Kirby closely. He and the waddledee looked happier than the group had ever seen them before.

Meta Knight had to turn away when he saw his former crew mate as he continued to walk through the hall. After a long trip down the hall full of spirits and laughter, they came to a halt in front of one mirror. The others couldn't see the person inside well and had to squint. Meta Knight held his glove out and the mirror became watery. He beckoned to the others to follow as he stepped through the portal. One by one, they entered the dream world of a soul.

The group looked around as the landscape stretched out in every direction. They were in a valley-like land with tall grass and blooming wild flowers. Bess hummed in the air and the grass swayed like the ocean waves as the wind gently brushed through it. Before them was a stone base house with a large front porch and a long clothes line with towels and sheets hanging from it. The air seemed fresh with a hint of sea salt. In the distance, they could see the source of that smell as they saw the wide ocean that bordered the hills. Suddenly, they saw two figures rolling about in the tall grass. They recognized at once who Meta Knight had brought them to.

Kamira laughed as she and her younger brother Ben tumbled down the hill in a heap. She now looked like a young girl with blond hair pulled back in short pig tails. She wore casual jeans and a shirt, much unlike the warrior appearance of her older self. Her face seemed less troubled and more carefree.

Meta Knight led the group up to her and Ben. They continued playing, oblivious that the others were watching them.

"I decided to waken Kamira out of all the spirits we know from her dream world. I would have liked it if I could wake everyone I know that had passed on to the next life, but waking a spirit causes them great stress when they are suddenly pulled out of paradise and realize that they are dead. I think Kamira would recover the fastest from the shock. For the rest, like Jecra, Garlude, SailorDee, and Sir Arthur, I would like them to be able to rest in peace."

Meta Knight stepped forward closer to Kamira. He held his glove out towards her forehead. He closed his eyes and murmured a few words. His glove glowed bright blue and suddenly, the land around them disappeared and the group found themselves floating in darkness. Ben disappeared too and Kamira glanced around her, as if someone had just woken her from a day dream. She looked at the others and then down at her transparent hands. She gasped when she tried touching her cheek and finding that her hand went straight through her face. She suddenly floated into the air and looked at her body. Her ghost tail waved violently as she jerked around. Her eyes widened. Slowly, she seemed to calm down slightly and she asked in a quiet voice,

"Did I die?"

Her voice sounded just like her older self, although her body was in the form of her younger self. That had surprised the others a little since they had expected to hear her younger voice.

"Yes," Meta Knight said with hesitation.

"Did I die honorably?" Kamira asked after much thought.

"Yes."

"Tell me, what happened."

Meta Knight spent the next few minutes, trying to recap the battles that had followed her death and all the events after returning to Dreamland. Sword and Blade occasionally interrupted as they made the battles seem more dramatic than they really were. Kamira drifted in the air, listening in silence until they finished up with their plans to get everyone back to Dreamland in time.

"Wow. I missed a lot," She said. "The group seems smaller though. Where are Fumu, SailorDee, and Sir Arthur?"

"SailorDee and Sir Arthur died. Fumu is temporarily encased in a crystal to preserve her life longer."

Kamira didn't say anything. The group looked around as the darkness around them disappeared the Spirit Hall returned.

"If you all are short of time, you should get going. Waiting would only make the journey harder and harder." She said.

Meta Knight nodded and turned to the others.

"Follow me. You all still need to know more about what is to come."

Without a word, they all followed him out of the Spirit Hall and back into the main tower. They finally came to a large room that resembled a living room. Tall windows surrounded the room and seemed to drift out in open air. A large mirror chandelier hung from a long chain that continued up into the darkness and gave the room more lighting. Two large couches stood at a polished mirror table where a large bowl of mirror balls rested. Ushering them to seat themselves, Meta Knight sat down at the end of the far couch.

"I haven't covered a lot of the things that you all should know about the trip," Meta Knight said, after waiting for them to all sit down. "The path that we will take could possibly take us longer than what I estimated which was around a few days. We would be crossing over the mountain peaks and bay area that stretches out along the coast. All that, however, would still be in the Half we are in. The Dark Half, from what I heard, is distorted and things that seem to be impossible exist there. I have never seen it myself but the few demonbeasts that have made it back to tell of it said nearly the same thing. Then there is the last thing…"

The others watched as Meta Knight's eyes turned green as his voice dropped.

"For some reason, I can only sense one figure behind the veil. I can't sense any other, but that one, it makes me uncomfortable thinking about it. It feels familiar but I can't quite tell what exactly about it is familiar. Something tells me that whoever it is, that is the one who has created the monsters in the Mirror Forest and placed the curse on my demonbeasts and Fumu. I have a feeling that we will be crossing the path with whoever it is."

No one said anything as each one of them were lost in thought. Wolfwrath appeared, finally having her anger cool down a bit. Kamira, floating sideways in the air, counted the group out.

"Wow! Including me, there are fourteen of us! That's an awful lot that will be questing out in the Mirror Lands!"

Meta Knight recounted the group, unable to believe the number.

"So there really are fourteen of us. I don't know how we all are going to get to the Tower of Shadows in time. There is too many for me to keep track of."

"Father, I have one question," Kirby said, looking directly at Meta Knight. "How long is the path we will take? By the sounds of it, it is a vast distance we must cover to reach the tower."

"Yes it is, but I will transform into my true form and I will fly us as much as possible. Some areas I will not be able to fly us and during the lunar hours, I am unable to keep my form. In the air, however, we would be able to avoid as much danger as possible that lurks in the shadows of the land."

Meta Knight turned to the others.

"Get ready to leave because it is time to begin the journey."

* * *

Everyone was outside on the bridge. Meta Knight appeared out of the tower's doors and walked over to the others. Behind him was a very unhappy Wolfwrath with supplies, coats for the others, provisions, and barrels of blood for Meta Knight and her, strapped down to her body. She moved slowly and with great difficulty from the weight. Meta Knight's eyes seemed to smirk and the wolf let out a deep growl in her throat.

"_Never again will I allow you to treat me like this!"_

"I am the Prince. I can have you executed for complaining," Meta Knight said smoothly.

Kamira drifted over to the royal blue ball.

"Shall I hide in your sword? I will be out of the way and can lend my strength to you. I can stay in any sword, gem, mirror, or jar that you have."

"Why those?"

Kamira shrugged as she smiled.

"I don't know. Something about them has spirit-collecting properties."

Meta Knight's eyes turned pink as he turned to look at Wolfwrath.

"Maybe you could stay with Bun's sword. I think he could use your help."

Kamira nodded and floated over to Bun.

"I guess you and I are partners now."

She closed her eyes and her body dissolved into a ghostly pale orb and circled Bun's sword before disappearing into it. Bun could immediately feel the lended strength in the sword and Kamira's voice in his head as she hummed some tune.

Backing up a little, Meta Knight ran at full speed down the bridge. His body began shimmering and he leapt into the air. His body changed into the dragon form they had seen him take when he had fought Galacta Knight on their last adventure. In the light, his pure black body and wings could easily be seen.

He flew higher and higher into the sky before he turned around and lowered himself onto the bridge. His magnificent wings created powerful currents of air that pushed everyone a little ways off. Finally, he landed and lowered his neck down to the others. One by one, they got on and secured themselves down.

"_Is everyone all set to go?"_

Checking to make sure they were all secured, he turned towards the Mirror Lands. He bowed his head down before he charged down the mirror bridge. The others felt wind rush past their faces as the dragon picked up his speed. Then all at once, Meta Knight lifted into the air and the ground suddenly grew farther away. The others looked around at the view in amazement. As they passed through the clouds that sparkled like millions of mirrors, they gazed out at the vast lands they had not been able to see before, even from the tallest point of the Mirror Tower. The Mirror World seemed even larger than before with distant mountain peaks, vast deserts, and shining oceans.

They glanced towards the Dark Half which loomed in the distance. As before, the entire land remained hidden deep behind the shadowy veils that drifted all around it. Even from their great view, they could not see much into the lands behind the Mirror Forest. The Dark Half's tower was about the only thing that could be picked out from the blackness.

Suddenly, Meta Knight's voice spoke in their minds.

"_I have planned out the path and all of the stops we will have to make. I want to get as far as possible during the solar hours we have left. I highly suggest you all try to rest a little; we may have to travel on foot for a long time if we do not reach the stopping point by the time lunar hours fall."_

The others nodded and they looked on as Meta Knight changed directions and began heading towards the large glaciers bordering the Mirror Lands.

Somewhere far below them, a dark figure stood at the border of the Mirror Forest, watching.

* * *

**A/N: **Meta Knight decided to keep it a secret for now that Clara is pregnant from the others. Will that later prove to be a problem?

I had to have Kamira join the party again. I kind of felt bad for getting rid of her so quickly in Angels of Prophecy. Now that she is a ghost, she can't really be a lot of physical help to the others, but she can still offer advice or point out things.

And who is that shadowy figure at the very end of the chapter? Hmmm…

New poll. This time, I am asking on what I could improve on. Sometimes it perplexes me what I should be doing differently due to the lack of constructive feedback. Please, if you can't find anything bad about what I am writing, please tell **WHY** you like it. **DO NOT** think that I will hate you for the rest of my life if you say something that I could work on. I actually appreciate that kind of feedback more than any other.

I appreciate all who have reviewed and continue to do so. I just am in the pursuit of better writing skills.

Please review and vote!


	6. Chapter VI: The Bay Village

**A/N: **...I had to use an old chapter from Angels of Prophecy to upload this chapter on to Fanfiction. I don't know if something is wrong with my document or what but it wouldn't let me upload like normal. After reading this over, I had the feeling of being rushed. I hate it when a story gives that feeling! :-( Ugh. Not happy with this but here it is!

The group are now approaching their first destination: the bay area. What lies in wait in the icy and murky depths?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anyone mentioned except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 6: The Bay Village--**

For the first hour, it had been spectacular to see the land around them and peer beyond what they had been able to see before, but now that the excitement had gone down, the others held on with slight boredom. Kirby, however, was still awed by the sights around as they flew through the skies of the Mirror World.

The only sound was the great whooshing sound of Meta Knight's powerful wings as they flapped in the air with slow but strong strokes. The air had gotten considerably colder, since they were higher up in the air and they had taken the coats that had been brought with them from Wolfwrath's load and huddled inside of the thick fur-lined coats.

Kirby glanced at his mother, who seemed to look slightly uncomfortable.

"Is everything alright Mom?"

Clara looked paler than usual and her face held the signs of slight discomfort. She looked up and smiled a little.

"I…I'm fine. I just f…felt dizzy. That's all."

Kirby didn't think much of it and turned his attention back to the approaching glaciers. The sparkling peaks reached far up into the cloudtops and it stretched for miles. Before, the mountains had looked like a wide border. Now as he looked back to the Mirror Tower, the tall structure seemed tiny and insignificant in contrast to this icy majesty.

Meta Knight started to descend beneath the clouds and the land soon came into detail before their eyes. They looked down to see that he was taking them to a bay area where a thin stream of water flowed into it from the sparkling oceans. They could see small huts by the side of the lake in the shape of small mirror-like domes. Kirby tapped on his father's back and Meta Knight's long and dark dragon head turned around.

"What are those? Are they like country homes?"

_"Yes. The demonbeasts that chose not to live within my city's lands live here. We will be stopping there shortly and continue on before mid solar hours."_

Kirby nodded and hung on tight as Meta Knight created a wide circle around the bay area. The tall grass swayed under the power of his mighty wings as they finally landed on the shore. Meta Knight stepped out of the bay's chilly waters and lowered his neck so the others could get off on to dry land. The group took a glimpse of the village and could instantly see something was wrong. Not one sound could be heard from the huts or bordering fields. Demonbeasts should have been walking between the homes or working inside but none could be seen around. Meta Knight walked forward, but was stopped by Wolfwrath.

"_Why must I always stop you from running straight into danger, Prince? Please, be more wise and allow me to go and investigate."_

Meta Knight looked at the wolf with an irritated expression. Finally, he gave up trying to argue with her and Wolfwrath squirmed out of the straps of the heavy loads. She trotted over towards the huts and disappeared. Soon after, she came running back, face almost pale, although it was covered in ruby red fur.

_"Prince! The demonbeasts! Something has happened to them…"_

The group ran forward, swords at ready, expecting a fight but as they came around a large hut, they stopped. Demonbeasts lay everywhere. Some were between the huts, inside them, and even on top. They all had pale faces and were shivering violently even though the air wasn't that cold.

Meta Knight bent down to one furry demonbeast that looked elderly with his aged eyes and dull fur. The demonbeast raised a paw towards Meta Knight but then it fell to the ground.

Suddenly, water from the bay shot into the air with tremendous force. The demonbeasts lifted their heads and screamed.

The group turned back to the bay waters and gasped. A large shadowy monster had emerged from the icy waters and turned to face them. It resembled a serpent with a metallic mask with a sharp point protruding out. Long antennas sprouted back from its head where large metal bead-like objects were attached to them. Its body was completely hollow and all that remained to speak of was its skeletal structure. Its single glowing eye narrowed as it gazed down at the group.

They drew their weapons out, ready to fight as it shook off large droplets of water. Sirica fired her gun and the bullet struck the monster on the side of its metallic head. It roared out its noiseless cry of pain and its long and skinny tail slammed down, causing the earth to shake. Knuckle Joe let a barrage of Vulcan jabs at the monster, making it retreat into the bay. It plunged back down into the icy depths, sending a large tsunami-like wave towards them.

"Everyone! Grab on to something!" Meta Knight shouted.

They held on to the sturdiest objects they could find: one of the mirror dome huts. Water rushed past them and they felt the air get pressed out of their lungs from the mighty force. Meta Knight held his wings over both Clara and Kirby as the water finally settled to the ground, leaving them all coughing and spluttering.

Soaking in ice cold water, they looked up just as the monster sprang high into the air like a large tower. They could see just how big of a monster they were dealing with as it slammed back down into the water, this time however, it did not send as big of wave at them.

Meta Knight grabbed his sword and leapt into the air, about to release a sword beam when the monster's antennas began rubbing against each other. All of the demonbeasts, including Meta Knight, Wolfwrath, Lololo, and Lalala, stopped suddenly and their eyes widened. The antennas released some long trill-like rattling that vibrated with such power that they could feel the movement from standing on the ground. The others watched as the demonbeasts dropped to the ground and screamed out as if in serious pain. Wolfwrath clawed at her furry ears and howled out. Meta Knight, Lololo, and Lalala clutched their heads as they tried to block out the sound. Kirby winced with each new rattle but it did not seem to harm him as much as it was for the demonbeasts.

Bun was still watching Meta Knight and his demonbeasts, unsure of what to do when Kamira's voice rang clearly in his mind with great urgency.

"_Bun! That monster's antennas are emitting some kind of signal sensitive only to demonbeasts. You have to tell the others this and stop the monster! It's killing Meta Knight and his people!"_

Bun immediately related the same information to the others and they all looked up at the monster. It had just stopped rubbing its antennas together and all of the demonbeasts gasped out as they were given a small chance of relief. Meta Knight stood up and fell backwards again, as if he had been spinning fast and had just suddenly stopped. For the rest of the demonbeasts, they too seemed to have lost their sense of balance.

The monster turned and looked down upon the demonbeasts who were defenseless. Its single eye fixed itself on the massive figure of Wolfwrath, whom appeared to make the best snack. It opened its jaws and lunged down. The wolf kicked and struggled as the razor sharp teeth of the monster closed around her and lifted her into the air. Meta Knight grabbed his sword and ran out into the water. The monster looked down at him but decided that he wouldn't make as good of a meal as the wolf would. The others watched as black tentacles emerge from its head and reach out towards Wolfwrath. The wolf yelped out and tried to break free from the monster's jaws, but only more blood flowed out from where its teeth had punctured through her body.

Meta Knight drew his sword back and sliced through its body. Only a few of its exposed bones snapped off but the monster sank under the surface, Wolfwrath still in its jaws.

Sword and Blade ran out into the bay as Meta Knight disappeared under the surface to try and resue one of his most faithful guards. Together, the two apprentices followed their lord to join him in the watery battle as the others watched from above.

* * *

At first, they could not see a thing. Sword looked around, holding her breath as she searched for Meta Knight. Both he and the monster seemed to have simply disappeared. Blade pointed downwards and the two swam further under. Finally, the water's murky depths seemed to clear out a little and they could start to make out the bay's walls in the form of a large and circular ring.

Suddenly, a large glowing eye moved past them and they turned to face the monster. The monster had little trouble swimming in the cold bay as its body was made for it. Compared to it, Sword and Blade were like minnows fighting a shark.

Wolfwrath remained nearly crushed between its row of teeth. She had miraculously been able to fight off the black tentacles from wrapping themselves around her body and infect her with the same dark marks that threatened to engulf Fumu. The gem on her forehead had become considerably duller as she continued to lose more blood. Meta Knight suddenly appeared right next to the two apprentices and he held his sword out. Using his wings to propel himself forward, he charged straight into the monster's neck and slashed out. However, his sword swings were slowed down in the icy waters and it was not any more than just a sharp tap when he struck the monster.

The monster's tail came around and whipped past Sword and Blade and knocked Meta Knight into the bay's rocky walls. A burst of bubbles rose to the surface as the tail slammed into his chest. The knight was forced to return to the surface to get more air, leaving Sword and Blade.

The two turned to each other and back to the monster. Clearly, just trying to attack it head on would be a fatal mistake. Blade swam towards it and drew his sword. The monster turned to face him and its antennas flared up like fur on a lion. Sword suddenly realized what Blade was planning out and she disappeared behind a cloud of dust that had risen up from when its tail slammed into the wall.

Blade waited until the monster was close enough before he stabbed his sword down into its skull. His sword punctured through its metal armor and it thrashed about, letting go of Wolfwrath. The wolf swam up to the surface, desperate to get a breath of air again. The monster finally settled down but a large stream of black particles rose up into the water from its wound and it turned to Blade. The knave realized that now he had no weapon. The monster circled around him and it suddenly lunged towards him, jaws open wide. That was when Sword appeared.

She had swum behind the monster while Blade was distracting it and now she appeared right behind its large head. She grabbed its sensitive antennas and yanked back as hard as she could. Water churned as the monster shot up towards the surface as it tried to shake the apprentice off. Blade was forced up as large bubbles surrounded him and acted as a large floatation device returning to the surface. Water shot up into the air as the monster appeared above the surface. Both Sword and Blade fell back to the water, making small splashes as they entered the bay once again. Meta Knight and Wolfwrath, who were still at the surface, found themselves looking directly into the maddened eye of the monster.

Wolfwrath was like a large and heavy rug now that her fur was completely soaked. She could barely keep her head above the surface as Meta Knight tried to help push her towards the shorelines. The others standing on the beach shouted out to them but their words were muffled by the monster as it slammed down its tail, sending a massive wave in all directions. Both Meta Knight and Wolfwrath were washed ashore and the others ran to help them up.

The knight stood up and turned back to Sword and Blade. The two apprentices were still somewhere out in the bay. Their heads suddenly appeared and Meta Knight grabbed his sword. He drew it back and threw it as far as he could.

"SWORD! BLADE!"

The two turned just as the sword hit the water. Blade grabbed it and held it up as Sword grabbed her weapon. The monster's serpent-like body loomed over them and its single eye focused on them. Its black tentacles reached out towards with the eagerness of a pack of wolves swarming around kill. Blade slashed out at them and forced them back as Sword disappeared back under the water again. One tentacle however, made it past his frantic slashes and wrapped around his armor. Blade was suddenly plucked out of the water and the monster's pupil narrowed. In the corner of his eye, he saw Sword climb up the monster's sides, using its bones as rungs on a ladder. She made her way up on to its head and held the sword high above her head. The monster's eye turned up to see her just as the sword came down and stabbed through.

Sword was thrown off far towards the shorelines as the monster's body thrashed about. The others on land watched as it dissolved into black particles before it disappeared entirely. A small glowing orb drifted down towards Blade and the others squinted to see what it was. They waited as the two apprentices swam back, Sword first and then followed by Blade. The two were shivering and cold by the time they got out and the sun was setting in the darkening sky. The others found blankets from the packs that Wolfwrath had brought and wrapped the two in them like towels. Blade held out the orb and everyone crowded around to see what he had in his hand. Kamira came out of Bun's sword and glanced at it.

"It looks like a spirit that's trapped inside. Crack it open."

Blade set it down on the ground and held his sword that he had retrieved before it sank into the bay, and slashed down on it. With a loud snap, the crystal covering burst open and the small glowing light from within floated out. It circled around Blade for a moment before it suddenly got brighter. They had to turn away as it got brighter and brighter until the dark outlines of a figure formed. The light softened but didn't go away completely. The others gasped as the figure of the same girl that had led them across the bridge between worlds appear before their eyes. She looked up at them and the lost look on her face disappeared and a warm smile formed on her lips.

"It was you, brave warrior, who freed my lost soul. I now remember my name: Cassidy, the path star. The journey ahead is not an easy one; many will fall along the way. Their souls, however, will be reborn again in the Dimensional World, not wander through the void for eternity. Help the souls that have fallen to the void and we will light that path home."

Cassidy's spirit dissolved back into its orb form before disappearing into the air. Although they couldn't see her, the others could still feel her presence around them as if she was a star in the night sky watching down upon them.

The demonbeasts of the village crowded around them and the elderly one that Meta Knight had come up to stepped forward. His long white eyebrows raised slightly as he examined Sword and Blade. He made a series of strange sounds that the others could not understand. Meta Knight translated.

"He thanks the two of you for the entire village for saving us all from the monster. He says that it had been terrorizing the demonbeasts here for a long time."

The demonbeast lifted his paw and thumped down where his heart was. The rest of the demonbeasts of the village did so as well. Sword and Blade looked around them in confusion. Meta Knight laughed a little.

"This is how demonbeasts show their appreciation."

"I didn't ever think that demonbeasts could show emotions like that…" Bun said as he watched them.

"I suppose since most have only seen them when they are attacking them, the people of the Dimensional World never saw how we demonbeasts are just as civilized as any other race."

In the distance, they could hear the bells toll out, signaling the end of solar hours. Meta Knight turned back to the others.

"We will have to stop here. None of us are able to talk with our lunar hours form but we can still listen to conversations. If you need anything, try to ask 'yes' or 'no' questions."

The others watched as all of the demonbeasts became darker and masks formed on their faces. The single gem on each one of them glowed brightly as they transformed into their lunar hours forms. Finally, after about a minute or so, all of the demonbeasts were finished transforming and they turned to the others in complete silence. Meta Knight walked over to Clara and Kirby as the gem on his mask turned green.

"Dad, are we going to reach the mountains by tomorrow?" Kirby asked as he turned towards the glistening mountains that were now closer than ever with curtains of auroras hanging over them. Meta Knight nodded as his answer of 'yes'. The next day, they would travel through the mountains in search of a way into the Dark Half where no one knew what was going on behind it.

As the group settled into the village where the demonbeasts all treated them like royal knights that had come to save them, a long figure stood on the edge of the bay, perched on top of a rock. His torn cape billowed in the wind as he watched them.

He turned his gaze to follow Sword as she was talked with Blade as they walked on the beach. The figure's gloves curled into fists. _She _was the one who had killed his beautiful creation!

His face from under his scarred mask remained emotionless like it had been since the day he had been created but inside, he could feel the power of his anger rising. The bright green armored apprentice would not live to see the Dark Half. He would make sure of that…

* * *

The demonbeasts all returned to their original forms as solar hours finally arrived. The others didn't say anything but they noticed that it left all of the demonbeasts tired and slightly irritable. After they had eaten, they all left the hut they had stayed at for the night and the elder demonbeast was standing outside, waiting for them. He and Meta Knight spoke again before the demonbeast thumped his paw over his heart and disappeared among the huts.

"He said that there is a mountain pass where we may have better luck crossing than if we tried anywhere else. The pass also directly leads to the Dark Half. However, he warns us that we must stay out of the shadows and in the narrow channel of light."

The others nodded but Kirby still was left in puzzlement.

"What is in the shadows? Are there any more monsters?"

Meta Knight shrugged.

"He didn't say. Let us just take his advice and stay on the alert when we get there."

The group stood at the beach, along with several villagers who wanted to give their farewells. Meta Knight unfolded his wings and looked up towards the skies. The wind was blowing at their backs and would make the trip to the mountains faster. He backed up before leaping out into the air. His dragon form soon flew out into the open air with the grace of an eagle before landing at the shore of the bay. The group got back on and secured themselves on his scaly back. Kirby was about to get on when he turned to watch his mother gasp out suddenly.

"Is something wrong?"

"I…I'm fine," Clara answered.

Meta Knight turned his head around and looked down towards Clara. Using his long snout, he lifted her up on to his back as Kirby got on. Finally all settled, Meta Knight nodded towards the demonbeasts of the Bay Village to stand back and give him room. He raised his wings into the air and shot up. The others felt the familiar feeling of nausea at first while they were still climbing higher and higher into the sky but slowly, they were flying up in the sky at a comfortable speed.

As they were in the air, Kirby turned to his mother.

"You don't look okay. Actually, not that I think about it, you didn't seem to feel well before we had even left the Mirror Tower."

"I…just get w…worried about trips like these…I fear for the safety of e…everyone and hope that we all w…will return home."

Kirby made his way over to Clara's side and he smiled.

"No matter what happens, we must keep walking forward."

Clara smiled a little but then her face turned away as she felt another tinge of discomfort. Kirby, thinking that his mother was just looking around at the view, didn't think too much about it and made his way back to the others.

* * *

"…It's cold." Knuckle Joe noted.

They had landed on an ice covered ledge on the side of the mountains and even though they all had their thick coats on, the cold could not be avoided. Meta Knight transformed back and folded his wings back up under his cape and looked up towards the towering peaks.

"So why can't you just fly us all up there?" Dedede said between clenched teeth.

"My wings are frozen. They can't stand the cold any longer. You do realize that my wings are more fragile and can't fly in harsh conditions?"

He turned back to the mountains before continuing.

"I would have preferred it I could have just fly us all over the pass but I am afraid that my wings will become stiff and I won't even be able to keep us in the air. We would all fall to who knows where! We will have to climb up on foot but it won't be easy. Some of these ledges look like that they are ready to fall off any moment."

He walked over to Clara who was shivering uncontrollably. He held her close to him and he nodded for the others to follow. Wolfwrath seemed to be the only one that wasn't that affected by the cold, apart from Kamira who couldn't feel anything anymore being dead.

Stinging winds blew past their faces and they had to turn away to avoid getting cut by the icy shards. Wolfwrath eventually had to carry more than just her packs as they got higher up and the temperature dropped. Escargon and Dedede had to get up on her back soon as well as Clara who looked even more pale than before. Meta Knight walked beside her and spoke in a very quiet tone that no one else could hear. Even Dedede and Escargon couldn't make out what he said, although they were sitting right in front of Clara from over the wind.

They stopped under a large wall that blocked out much of the wind. There was a small cave-like structure in it and they rested inside. Wolfwrath let Dedede, Escargon, and Clara off of her back before she settled down in the snow directly in front of the opening and blocked out even more of the coldness. The group instantly felt relief to be out of the chilly winds. With a flick of his gloves, Meta Knight formed a spark and it began burning hotter and hotter until it was warm like any campfire would be. Clara snuggled next to the knight and was soon sleeping. Meta Knight kept a wing around her as he related what path they would take up the mountains.

"I believe that we should try to keep out of the open winds as much as possible. It makes us all miserable and I fear that if there is a powerful surge, we could be blown off the ledges." He said in a low voice.

"How far up is that pass that we are supposed to travel through?" Sirica asked as she rubbed her hands together to warm up.

"It can be seen from the ledge we are on now but it is still a ways off. The veil to the Dark Half lies right behind it. The elder of the Bay Village said that it could possibly be the best route in."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just enter it from the level we are on?"

"Perhaps, but the elder had said that his son was one of the few to return back from the Dark Half. Before the Dark Marks killed him, he retold of what he had seen and where he had gone. He said something about only one true path leading in. He had gone through the mountain pass and that is what the elder believes was what his son was talking about."

Escargon, who had been thinking for a while, finally got the chance to ask.

"I have one question. How can so much have happened here when you and your demonbeasts left Dreamland less than a week ago?"

"Time runs faster here in the Mirror World than it does in the Dimensional World. That was one of the reasons why we had to count the hours by Solar Hours and Lunar Hours rather than day or night. It is possible that when you return to Dreamland, only a day had passed. While it had only been less than a week in the Dimensional World, the equivalent of a month had already passed here. That was why when you arrived to my empire, the city around the Mirror Tower was near completion."

A sudden rumble made everyone stand up. Wolfwrath's fur rose as she growled as she sensed the approach of strangers. Clara woke up and a worried expression spread across her face. Meta Knight drew his sword out and faced the opening.

"Looks like we've got company!"

* * *

**A/N: **Yep. Another monster and battle. I kind of enjoy fights that take place in the water since it really puts them at a disadvantage while the monster can swim around easily.

I kind of was not pleased with how this turned out. I am trying to improve what I call my 'action' scenes but that clearly isn't going very well. If any of you reviewers have a good suggestion on writing action or something of the sort, please, review!

The group also has their first rescued spirit. Many other spirits are still forgotten throughout the Mirror World and to fulfill their promise, they must find them and let the identities of the souls be remembered once again.

Finally, the same dark figure at the end of last chapter wants Sword dead for killing his creation. Are the apprentice's final hours numbered?

Please review and vote!


	7. Chapter VII: Sacrifice

**A/N: **I have a four day weekend off from school so right now, I am very pleased, but I will be gone for most of it when I visit my friend who lives in a different state. This chapter took a lot longer than I had expected and the parts seemed kind of choppy. The 'action' scenes were pretty pathetic but I think I fixed it up quite a bit. Hopefully, it's better now.

Who in the world will Meta Knight and the others fight now?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anyone except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 7: Sacrifice--**

Everyone immediately stood up and the ones with weapons drew them out. Silence swept over the group as Wolfwrath's fur rose up and a deep growl emitted from her throat that sounded like a low rumble.

All at once, the wolf sprang out of the cave's entrance and leapt into the open air. With her sharp claws out, she came down upon what appeared to be nothing more than air. The others gasped as blood flew out, spraying the white snow in red. A horrible screech followed, but surpisingly, it did not come from Wolfwrath. The wolf bit down hard into the air and yanked back, making the screech intensifie. Blood soaked through her furry mane as something slashed through her body around the neck. Streams of blood flew out as more of the monsters attacked her. She was suddenly lifted into the air high above the frozen ground and thrown into the cliff's icy ledge with a powerful force. She skidded across the thin layer of ice, smearing blood across it before she slowly stood up on to her hind legs and released a large ball of fire. It seemed to have missed, however, when there was a lack of screams in the air.

Meta Knight's eyes flashed orange as he realized what they were dealing with.

"These monster...we can't see them unless they show themselves…"

Outside, they watched as Wolfwrath charged forward and slashed her mighty claws at the invisible creatures. Her back leg was suddenly torn open as a monster attacked from behind and she howled out in pain. Meta Knight grabbed his sword and ran out towards his most loyal demonbeast. He leapt into the air and thrust the blade of the sword down, and felt it sink into flesh. Turning it, more and more blood seeped out into the snow as the monster struggled to pull it out. Watching the blood spill out from what seemed like nowhere was disturbing , yet it showed Meta Knight exactly where his enemy was. He hacked and stabbed at the monster, driving it back until suddenly, its form appeared.

The monsters they were fighting were tall, lean figures that had a grayish color. Their legs moved in long strides with a slight stp in between. Their feet were turned in crooked directions and they stood up on what appeared to be hooves. Their heads were twisted way off of their necks as if they were about to fall off and barbed wire coiled around their neck and body. Their faces were deathly pale with empty eye sockets, just gaping holes. Their mouths looked melted and only small slivers of blackness could be seen from under the layers of drooping flesh.

Meta Knight froze as it reached forward towards him. He suddenly remembered where he had first seen monsters like these: in the labs of Nightmare Enterprises.

As the monster leaned forward, its chest suddenly opened up, revealing its true mouth. Lined with thousands of sharp teeth, the 'mouth' was a great opening that exposed its hollow insides. Its hot saliva dripped down from it as it lunged forward towards Meta Knight. He fell back as the jaw snapped at him. Lunging for him again, the monster walked closer. At the last moment before the teeth closed around him, Meta Knight held both sides of the mouth open with his hands. The monster's jaw was surprisingly powerful and Meta Knight felt his arms shake. Its breath smelled of rotting matter and made the knight gasp for air. Fighting it was like a bug trying to outmatch a Venus fly trap.

All at once, a gunshot sounded and the monster stopped. Meta Knight felt the monster collapse on him, dead. Sirica lowered her gun and smiled as she, Kirby, Bun, Knuckle Joe, Sword, and Blade joined the fight.

The monster one by one, became visible but each one was equally as horrifying as the first. Kirby raised Galaxia and knocked the first one clear off of its footing as he made his way towards his father who was trapped under the body of the monster that was unexpectedly heavy. More reached out to him and he dodged and weaved through them, hacking and slashing at each one he passed by. Finally, he landed right next to Meta Knight and pulled at the monster with all of his strength. It wouldn't move. Kirby was about to try again when Meta Knight shouted,

"KIRBY!"

The pink Star Warrior turned around just as a monster struck him in the face, sending him flying back. He skidded closer and closer to the edge of the cliff and he dug his sword in as deep as he could. His body hung over open air as he held on to Galaxia's hilt. A few ice shards fell around him as he struggled to pull himself back up on to the cliff.

Above him, a monster landed backwards over the edge of the cliff as Knuckle Joe slammed a mighty punch into it. The creature's head snapped off but as it fell, it grabbed on to Kirby. Its long arms wrapped around Kirby, threatening to force both of them down to their deaths.

The others were all fighting monsters of their own. They would not be able to help him.

Suddenly, the ice broke away and Kirby plunged downwards along with the monster. He screamed out the cliff became farther and farther away. Then, a shadow fell over him and the monster. He looked up just as Meta Knight came down upon them, knocking the monster off of Kirby. Holding the pink Star Warrior tightly, Meta Knight flew them back to the cliff.

"I thought you were still trapped under the other monster."

"I was, but to hear you get in danger, it lent me enough strength."

They landed on the cliff and drew their swords out. Standing back to back, they nodded to the other and they charged out into the fray. Like a single swordsman, they synchronized their moves, making each attack devastating to the enemy.

Sword and Blade got back to back as well, but instead, they used one of their signature moves. When they had to fight to survive long ago, they were able to pull off a powerful move that could only be done by working together. Linking their arms, they swung around in a wide circle, creating a twister like appearance. Their swords hit their targets multiple times as the ice made them spin even faster. The monsters were knocked away as they went round and round. Finally, their spinning slowed and the two nearly fell backwards from the dizziness. Trying to stand upright, they wobbled from side to side as the monsters stepped forward. Just as the nearest one was about to strike, Sword fell forwards, bringing Blade down with her and the monster's vicious swing missed, instead slashing through the air above them. The two apprentices rolled to the side where they could stand up and prepare themselves for the next attack.

A few monsters at once lunged forward, chests opening to reveal their true mouths. Blade slammed his sword straight into the first monster's mouth. It shrieked out as it retreated back, only to be stabbed by Sword as she thrust the blade of her sword into the back of it. Under their helmets, they smiled as they fought the enemy together.

Bun was surrounded by three of the monsters with no one at his side. Kamira shouted out in his mind, guiding him as he fought. Her added strength seemed unnatural to him but it filled him with some confidence.

He feinted to the right as one of the monsters slashed out. Although they had the appearance of zombies, they moved swiftly. Bun was barely able to get out of the way before the next attack came.

"_Watch out from behind!" _Kamira shouted out.

Bun turned to face the monster just as it pulled its long arm back, ready to attack. Without thinking, Bun raised his sword just as it struck out and a clear ring of metal sounded.

"_Finish it off! Stab it through its chest!"_

Bun thrust his sword into the monster and turned the sword into its flesh. He winced as it shrieked out. He suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of fear sweep over him.

"_Don't stop now Bun!"_

He pulled the blade out as the monster collapsed. His small body was weaker than the rest of his friends, but he could move quicker than any of them. He rolled to the side, nearly grazed by the sharp claws of the next monster. He swung the sword over his head, cutting into the face of the monster. He jumped back just as it slammed its arm down. Quickly retaliating with his own attack, Bun finished off the monster and finally the last one.

Suddenly, the bells in the distance tolled out and all of them stopped. Meta Knight, Wolfwrath, Lololo, and Lalala all dropped to the ground as their bodies started to transform. Now only one of the monsters remained. It bled heavily but it still continued to fight. Suddenly, it grabbed a large slab of ice and slammed down with all of its force. The others gasped as the ledge began to shake. The monster had successfully cracked the icy cliff, making it break apart. The ledge began to tilt forward. Knuckle Joe and Sirica were at the far end of it and jumped off immediately along with Blade. Bun ran forward and jumped up just in time to grab the end to it as it tilted upwards. Everyone else began to slide to the edge of the cliff.

Kirby looked back towards Meta Knight. His father was unable to move as his body was still in the middle of transforming. He pulled his sword out and slid towards his father, grabbing him by the cape and thrusting his sword back into the ice again. The monster reached out and grabbed the knight, wrapping its long arms around his body. Kirby gasped out as the sword began to slide out of the large crack he had made in the ice to keep from falling. Down below them, thick mists swirled below them, threatening to engulf them if they fell.

Sword looked down towards them.

_Follow your destiny young one, save your friends…_

Just as Kirby's grip was about to slip, Sword threw herself upon the monster, knocking it away from Kirby and Meta Knight. Her helmet was knocked off of as she and the monster slid to the very end of the ice slab. Blade grabbed Sirca's gun and fired its hook shot down to Sword. She grabbed it just as the broken ledge fell, rushing past the apprentice and monster and down into the mists. Blade pulled the rope back as he tried to pull Sword back up. However, the monster's weight was surprisingly heavy and he was dragged forward towards the edge from it. Sword looked up as she watched him get close to falling to his own death as well. As the monster wrapped its other arm around her, Sword watched as time slowed.

_Follow your destiny…and be the guiding star, leading the way home…_

Sword looked at Blade for the last time. He was to live. The future called for it. She was the one to give him a chance to make the rest of the journey…for both of them.

Slowly, Sword drew out her knife with her open hand and held it to the rope as she closed her eyes.

"Sword! Don't do it!" Blade shouted.

The others watched as the rope snapped as the knife's blade cut through it. Sword and the monster fell and disappeared into the mists. No one said a word for a full minute as Blade looked down off the edge.

"SWORD!"

His shout echoed several times before it too disappeared. Blade slowly pulled up the snapped rope where Sword had cut through it to let Blade live. Finally finished transformed, Meta Knight's single gem turned dark blue as he picked up Sword's helmet. Hesitantly, he handed it to Blade who snatched it up as he fell to the ground. His body shook but he would not allow himself to cry.

"Sword…"

The others wanted to say something that could possibly try to comfort the apprentice but they too felt the loss deeply.

"Sword…and I were…friends when we had no one…" Blade murmured as he clutched the helmet. "We were always there for the other…she was like a sister…"

Kamira came out of Bun's sword and drifted over to Blade. She placed a transparent hand on his shoulder and although he couldn't feel its warmth, he looked up.

"Sword did what she did to let you and the others continue the journey. Would she be pleased right now to know that you would choose to lie here in the snow and let her sacrifice go to waste?"

"No…" Blade said quietly.

"I too have shed my own tears from the deaths of my family and friends, but I continued to let destiny lead me. Sword's destiny has been fulfilled: to give her friends the rest of the journey to finish. You have yours to find. Will you continue or will you give up your life?"

The others watched as Blade slowly got up and walked back towards the group with Kamira as he still held on to Sword's helmet.

"Let's go." He said without looking up.

They all looked at each other before following the apprentice back into the cave. Just before Kirby walked in with the rest of them, a figure in the corner of his eye made him turn. In the snow flurries, he could make out a shadowy figure standing out there, watching. The figure's cape billowed out in the wind. Kirby blinked and the figure disappeard, like a shadow.

* * *

The group had left the small cove and was journeying up towards the mountain pass that was still a long way off. The Dark Half's veil glimmered like the auroras that hung in the sky. None of them said very much along the way. Blade laid face down in Wolfwrath's fur as she carried the apprentice on her back. Sword's helmet hung from his glove; a reminder of the heavy price Sword had paid to let her friends continue onward.

They stopped to rest on a wide ledge some time later and they sat in a circle to try to stay warm. Bun was sitting down rubbing his hands to keep warm when Kamira interrupted his thoughts.

"_Kind of reminds you of Icronth, doesn't it?" _Kamira asked from his sword.

"_What does?" _Bun answered back with his mind.

"_The land here. It's covered in snow like Icronth."_

"_Yeah, I guess it is kind of like that planet."_

"_It's possible that since the Mirror World we are in is based off of Meta's memories and dreams, this mountain area is based off of his memory of Icronth and that is possibly why it feels so similar. But that kind of makes me uneasy."_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Did you notice that the last monsters that we fought were not shadowy like the others and were able to shriek out? When I first picked Meta out of the snow so many years back, there was something about the look in his eyes that told me that he had seen things that no child should ever have to see. I believe that the monsters that we fought were something out of Meta's memories and I fear that we will see more."_

Bun stopped as he considered what Kamira was talking about. He had not noticed the fact that the monsters were not like the ones that attacked his sister, they were made of flesh and bones.

"_So what are we going to do?"_

"_For now, the main thing is to keep on the alert. Don't tell anyone what I've just said but keep watching. If I sense anything, I will tell you."_

Bun tried to question further but he heard no reply from the sword. Setting it down beside him, he sighed and leaned back against the ice, eyes half opened, watching.

Finally, the bells tolled out again, though it was difficult to hear them from the long distance they were at and the demonbeasts transformed back. Meta Knight stood up and faced the others.

"We should continue onward. This spot won't keep us from freezing to death. Once we find some place warmer, then we can fully rest."

The others didn't say anything but got up, ready to walk. Clara stood up when she suddenly gasped out. She leaned against the wall as she placed a hand on her stomach. Meta Knight ran over to her just as she was about to fall over.

"Meta Knight! I…I can't go on! The baby-"Clara gasped out before Meta Knight swiftly silenced her as be put a glove over her lips.

The others looked at the couple strangely. Kirby walked forward to his parents with a curious look on his face.

"Dad? What's happening to Mom?"

Meta Knight glanced up at his son but avoided looking directly into Kirby's eyes.

"It's…nothing. Your mother is just not feeling well."

"What do you mean 'not feeling well'? She's been looking that way since we left the Mirror Tower!"

"I told you, she isn't feeling well." Meta Knight said more firmly.

"Don't try to say that to me again!" Kirby said, voice rising. "You're hiding something! Is there something that even your own son can't know?"

"Right now it isn't your concern." Meta Knight answered, trying to keep his voice leveled.

"Not my concern?! Mom's just about to keel over! How can I possibly not worry about her? Did you do something to her? Is that why you're so secretive?" Kirby said, rising to a shout.

The two shouted back and forwards as they argued. Their words echoed throughout the mountains until finally, Meta Knight shouted,

"Your mother is pregnant!"

Meta Knight breathed heavily as he drew his breath back in before he realized that he had just let everything slip. Kirby stood back, eyes widened. The others gasped and they looked from Clara to Meta Knight and back.

"So you didn't say a thing about it? Why? Because you think I can't understand anything or that I'm still a baby?!"

"Kirby, it wasn't like th-"

"You don't even know me! What kind of father are you?!" Kirby shouted before he ran off, disappearing into the flurry of snow.

Meta Knight stood there in the snow, body shaking as his eyes turned dark blue and softened.

"Kirby!" Meta Knight called.

No reply came back. Meta Knight carefully helped Clara lean against Wolfwrath before he followed Kirby. The others watched as he vanished as well, still calling for Kirby.

After about an hour, Meta Knight warily dragged himself through the snow. He looked up as he reached the resting spot, eyes glowing a faint green.

"Kirby didn't come back?"

The others shook their heads. Meta Knight pressed his mask into the icy walls as he let out his breath slowly. Kirby's words still rang in his mind, each time stabbing him like sharp knives. The others heard him murmur,

"Maybe I am a bad father…"

He suddenly stood up again and faced the others.

"I can't leave Kirby alone like this. Either he will freeze to death or he will be attacked by those monsters. Please, help me find him." He said, voice almost begging towards the end.

The others nodded as they grabbed their things and followed the knight up the ledge and into the next flurry of snow.

* * *

Kirby was curled up against the walls of a large opening of a cave. The cave seemed to go straight through the heart of the mountain he was on and he could hear the wind howl through it.

_Dad thinks I'm not mature enough to handle a situation by myself…_

Galaxia laid in the snow by his side and he picked it up, looking at his sad face in the reflection. He threw it as far away as possible and it hit against the side of the cave. He didn't want to look at it anymore. Galaxia was his _father's _sword, not his. The only reason Meta Knight gave it to him was probably because he thought that it was about time to pass it on to his son, not because he thought that his son was capable of defending himself and grown up enough to lead the universe's army.

Kirby felt the hot tears on his face soon freeze up and they burned. He buried his face in his coat even more. How alone he felt.

He suddenly looked up as he heard his name being called. His face changed from surprised that his father was looking for him before it changed to anger.

_He's probably going to yell at me for running off. He doesn't love me. If he truly did, why would he think of me lower than him?_

He stood up and looked into the depths of the cave. He took one last glance towards the outside's snowy conditions before he ran as hard as he could, into the cave's darkness.

Soon after, Meta Knight and the others reached the mouth of the cave and the knight gasped as he picked up Galaxia.

"KIRBY!" He shouted into the cave.

The only response was the thousands of echoes that followed. Meta Knight looked at Galaxia's blade where several of Kirby's tears were frozen on to it. He wrapped his gloves around it tightly even though the blade was cutting into his hands. Wolfwrath came up to Meta Knight and rubbed her wet nose up against him.

"_You aren't seriously thinking of going in there, not knowing if your son really went in there or not?"_

"I will go. I can't let him die all alone, thinking that his father hates him. Even if he isn't in there, I will not come back out unless I find him."

He took a step forward when suddenly, the mountain began to shake. They watched as from the high peaks above, boulders and ice blocks fall, coming straight towards them. Meta Knight looked towards the cave.

"RUN!"

The group separated, the ones closest to the cave taking shetlet within it and the rest running to a safer place. They watched as the snow, dirt, and ice come down, trapping Meta Knight, the Lola twins, Escargon, and Sirica inside of the cave.

The mountain continued to rumble until finally, all was settle again and Wolfwrath ran to the collapsed cave opening. She dug with her large paws and clawed at it but with every little bit she cleared away, more came to take its place. She gave up, howling out in desperation. From within the rubble, they could hear Meta Knight call out to her, though it was muffled by the layers of the snow and dirt.

"Wolfwrath! Can you hear me?"

"_Prince! Are you okay? What about the others?"_

"Everyone is okay in here, but I don't think we are going to be able to get back out this way. We will have to find another way out! Listen, keep going towards the mountain pass and we will find a way out and catch up with you guys!"

"_Prince!" _Wolfwrath called with her mind, trying to press for more details but she heard no reply.

Slowly, Wolfwrath drew away from the collapsed cave opening and looked towards the others. Nodding, they followed the wolf on the long path towards the mountain pass.

* * *

Meta Knight and the others made their way through the dim cave. The ice gave off a soft glow but the cave was still considerably darker. They could feel wind blow past them, signaling that somewhere, there was an opening that would take them back outside to the others.

Meta Knight called again for Kirby but there was still no reply besides his echo.

"Where did I go wrong? Am I not a good father?" Meta Knight asked quietly.

"Just wait, Prince, I'm sure Kirby will understand once he hears your reasons to keep it a secret from him." Lololo said as he floated over the knight.

They continued down a little further before Lalala spoke.

"Now that I think about it…you're not exactly a _prince _any longer. You're married and you have a son. That would make you _king_!"

"Please, I do not want to be called that. I wish I wasn't born to the same blood line as Nightmare. I just want my son back."

Lalala shrugged but contined floating alongside Meta Knight. Sirica and Escargon followed close behind as they came to the end of the hall-like passage and out into a wide open area deep within the mountain. Looking around them, crystals surrounded them, glimmering with multiple colors. In the far corner of the room, they could hear someone sobbing.

"KIRBY!"

Meta Knight ran forward towards the direction of the sobs. It stopped and the voice said,

"D…Dad?"

Kirby stood up, revealing where he had been hiding from behind a large crystal and Meta Knight wrapped his wings around him. Kirby looked up, surprised to see that large bloody demonbeast tears dripped down from his father's mask.

"Don't…ever run from me…again." He said softly.

"I'm sorry Dad…"

"I understand that you were mad at me…but I didn't tell you…partly because I didn't want to make you worried…and partly because of my shame for getting your mother pregnant again." Meta Knight said slowly.

Kirby leaned against his father, already his insides warming up, knowing that he wasn't hated.

"It's okay.'

The two walked back to the others. Meta Knight looked up to Sirica, Escargon, and the Lola twins.

"We have to find a way out of here. We can't go back the way we came from and we don't know how far this cave goes. It could go on forever for all we know."

They made their way past the giant crystals and over to the other side of the room. Meta Knight turned back to Kirby again.

"By the way, you left your sword out in the snow," Meta Knight said as he pulled Galaxia from under his cape and handed it to Kirby.

Kirby smiled but didn't say anything. The group entered another passage, however, this time it was extremely narrow. Several times, their coats were snagged on the sharp edges of the ice and by the time they finally clambered out and into a wider passage, they were covered in cuts.

"Ouch. Why did _I _have to get trapped in here? At least his majesty wasn't; he wouldn't even fit through that passage!" Escargon said, looking at his bloodied arms and hands.

Meta Knight suddenly silenced him with a wave of his hand. The others looked at him curiously as he closed his eyes.

"Do you hear it? It sounds like running water! That means there is some kind of spring inside of this mountain!"

The others listened for a long time until the small sound of water could be heard. They followed Meta Knight towards the source of it past more icy walls and slippery ledges. They walked around a corner and they saw it. Exactly in the center of the next open area was a large lake. At the far end, they could see a small stream of water trickle down into it. Surprisingly, there was some grass growing by the sides of the lake. The air here was warm enough to take their coats off as well.

Suddenly the mountain shook as another avalanche somewhere fell. The entire cavern shook and stalagmites dropped like sharp knives. The group looked behind them just as the passage they had just walked through caved in. Had they still walked through it, they would have been all buried under the rocks. As the dust cleared, they found that none of them were hurt by the collapse and they stood together as they looked around the room.

Looking up where the water was flowing down from, they could see daylight stream in from a small crack in the ceiling that looked like it was large enough for the group to squeeze through if they could somehow reach it.

Sirica took a step forward towards the lake when Meta Knight stopped her.

"There's something about this place that doesn't feel right. Whatever you do, stay out of the water. This place reeks of rotting flesh."

"Rotting…flesh?" Escargon stammered.

Meta Knight blinked.

"You can't smell it?"

The others shook their heads. It only seemed to make Meta Knight more worried.

"It's very strong…for me at least…"

They made their way on the narrow ledge around the lake. The rock was not wet but it was smooth, making it treacherous to walk on. They moved slowly, carefully stepping around the broken rock parts and slippery areas. Just as they were about half way across, Meta Knight raised a glove to his head, eyes seeming to become dimmer.

"Dad! What's wrong?"

"I'm…dizzy…can't breathe…poison…"

He suddenly collapsed as Kirby made his way around the others and over to him. Now the terrible smell that Meta Knight had been talking about earlier reached them. The entire chamber was filled with poisonous gases, smelling of rotting flesh since there were little openings for it to escape. Meta Knight had been the first to detect it as well as pass out from it. Panic rose like a wave over the group. It wouldn't be long before they too would pass out.

Without hesitation, they all grabbed something to put over their mouths to keep the air that they breathed in filtered. Kirby took Meta Knight's cape off and covered his father's mouth, in hopes that it would help keep his father alive.

The lake seemed to be the source of where the toxins were coming from. Every last drop was poisonous. Peering down into the lake, Kirby could have sworn he could see the skeletons of those who had died from breathing in or drinking the poison. Feeling his heart beat faster now with panic, he tried to calmly urge the others onward but it came to the opposite of the desired effect.

"We're all going to die here!" Escargon moaned as he gazed around the toxic lake cavern.

The small hole at the far end of the room was above the lake, as if it was trying to lure the group into some death trap.

Looking at the others to Kirby's dismay, everyone was panicky, even the generally calm Sirica. Clearly, the dizziness had greatly reduced her ability to think straight. Escargon curled up into his shell, leaving only Lololo and Lalala, who also were looking desperately at the light shining outside.

"Sirica! Give your gun to Lololo and Lalala and they could fly up to the hole and get us out of here!"

Sirica shook her head sadly.

"The cord wouldn't be long enough if I used my hook shot. The ledge ends here. It looks like we're going to have to swim over towards the hole."

Kirby looked back at the lake again. It made him uneasy. In the corner of his eye, he narrowly caught a glimpse of small waves that washed over the rocks at the far end of the room. Just a moment ago, the entire lake had been still. Waves didn't form without anything to make it.

Something _moving_ had to make it.

Just before Kirby was about to relate what he had just seen, the ledge seemed to give way. He and Sirica fell into the lake. Trying to keep the toxic water out of his mouth, Kirby gasped as he came back to the surface. Escargon and the two Lola twins were at the edge of the rocks high above with relieved expressions that Kirby and Sirica did not appear to be hurt.

"Ugh! I just felt something brush up against my arm!" Sirica said as she began swimming towards the shore lines.

Kirby and the others watched in horror as she was suddenly pulled under. Bubbles rose to the surface as some struggle began between the girl and some unknown thing. Sirica coughed and spluttered as her head resurfaced.

"There's something in here!"

Almost immediately, her head went under completely. Kirby felt his entire body freeze.

"Kirby! Get out of there!" Escargon, Lololo, and Lalala shouted down.

Kirby's blue eyes widened as he watched a large circle of red form where Sirica had been only moments before. Something was attacking her. No matter how much he was afraid to face whatever was in the lake, he would not leave his friends.

He drew Galaxia out and as it shimmered, he swam towards Sirica. Her head resurfaced several times during the struggle as water thrashed about. The upper lip of her mouth had been cut badly and was now bleeding along with several areas on her cheek. She had her gun out and by pressing a button, the dagger within it came out. She hacked and stabbed into the water, trying to fight back whatever was attacking her. Kirby looked downwards and gasped.

The monsters that were attacking Sirica were like tigers; only half their bodies were as one of a shark while their upper portion held the same appearance of the wild cat. Long strands of dark fur hung down from it, covered in what looked like lichens. On its arms were fin-like flaps which seemed to give the creature its speed through the waters. There was a whole group of them attacking Sirica like a pack of piranhas, all attracted to the blood that was flowing from her body. She coughed out more blood as she looked at Kirby desperately.

"HELP!" She screamed just as one pulled her under again.

Kirby breathed in deeply before plunging his head under. Forcing his eyes open, he watched as a few of the monsters began swimming around him, trying to determine whether this new prey would be worth the time to kill. As one tried to swim closer, Kirby stabbed into the water with Galaxia, however, the monster swam away easily before the sword could touch it.

More and more swarmed around both Kirby and Sirica. Trying to keep as much of them in his range of view, Kirby held his sword out in a defensive position, ready to try to ward off any one of them. Suddenly, he felt something tear at his back. He whipped around as he shook off the monster that had just came behind him and take a bite of his flesh. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the water turn red around him. He watched as the monsters divide between the two struggling figures as they tried to attack them both. The blood had now driven them into a frenzy.

Kirby turned around just as the largest one of all circled him slowly. Its pupil less eyes seemed to watch his every move, bloody teeth glittering in the light.

* * *

**A/N: **Ouch. Looks like Kirby and Sirica are in a tight situation. Sorry about my later updates. I think my teachers are trying to murder me right now with the sudden truckloads of homework. ;-(

So now the secret is out about Clara and Meta Knight, which really stirred up the argument between Kirby and his father.

(Sobs) Sword died! D: She was the sacrifice in this chapter...

Please review and **Please vote!** I really need to know what I could improve on! To those who haven't voted, there's got to be SOMETHING that I could improve on! For those who have voted, thank you so much! I greatly appreciate it! ^_^


	8. Chapter VIII: Count Down

**A/N:** For this chapter, it will be split up between groups. Right now, Meta Knight, Kirby, Escargon, Sirica, and the Lola twins are within the toxic caverns, fighting some monsters, while the rest are outside in the mountain area where they are dealing with issues of their own.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 8: Count Down--**

The group now split into two parts all faced their own challenges. While Meta Knight, Sirica, Escargon, Lololo, Lalala set off to locate Kirby in the ice caverns, the rest stood outside, gazing at the long and difficult path ahead. The wide mountain pass with the shadowy veil to the Dark Half that hung in the air like shining auroras.

No one said a word while they trudged through the thick snow. Clara laid on her side on Wolfwrath's back as she was unable to walk long distances without tiring. She rested her pale face in the wolf's deep magenta fur. Now, all of the others knew the reason why Meta Knight had been extremely pushy to get them all started on the journey to the Dark Half's lands. With Clara expecting a child soon, the urgency to return to the Dimensional World was greater.

The group cautiously made their way across spiraling ledges around the glaciers, all icy and ready for someone to slip and possibly fall to their death.

Digging her claws into the ice, Wolfwrath was able to move more easily than the rest. The others had to hang on to her fluffy tail for support as they carefully made their way up. All around the ledges, the fall would be a long way down into the mists and what lay under it, no one knew. Just as Dedede took another step forward, he slipped and his massive body fell backwards, causing the ice to crack in several places. He knocked into Knuckle Joe, Blade, and Bun, who unfortunately were walking behind him and all four of them slid down towards the edge. Wolfwrath ran forward and managed to snag Dedede's robes in her jaw just as the penguin fell over the side of the cliff. Knuckle Joe's flailing arms caught hold on to Dedede's sleeves, Blade grabbed hold of the martial arts fighter's leg, and poor Bun dangled far below on the chain. Wolfwrath's long claws grinded the ice as she struggled to pull everyone back up to safety of the ledge.

Bun looked up towards Blade. With one hand, the apprentice held on to Knuckle Joe's leg and in the other, he held on to Sword's empty helmet close to his chest. His grip on Knuckle Joe began to slip.

"Blade! Let go of Sword's helmet! We're going to fall!" Bun cried out desperately.

"NO!" Blade shouted back, stubbornly holding on to Sword's helmet.

Bun could see that it would be no use trying to argue with Blade. The apprentice was clearly willing to sacrifice Bun's life and his own for Sword's helmet. It was the last thing he had of his childhood friend and he wasn't about to let it go.

Knuckle Joe looked down and he too shouted to Blade to drop the helmet, getting the same answer. As he tried to reach down to pull Blade back up, Dedede's robe tore a little, forcing Knuckle Joe to keep both hands on the penguin's sleeve, in fear that if he tried to help them, all three would fall to their deaths.

Tokkori flew down and was tugging on Blade, trying to help pull him up, but his strength was not enough. The others gasped as Blade's hand slipped and he and Bun plunged downwards, screaming until their cries vanished into the mists.

"BLADE! BUN!"

A deathly silence fell over the group. Wolfwrath finally managed to pull Dedede and Knuckle Joe back on to the cliff and they all looked down towards the mists sadly. The wolf let out a mournful howl that echoed throughout the mountains.

* * *

"Bun! Blade!"

Opening their eyes, the two looked up towards the nearly transparent figure of Kamira. Since she had been in Bun's sword, she had been dragged down to where they had fallen as well. They were on a pile of fluffy snow at what looked like the bottom of a deep ravine.

"What happened?" Bun said, running his bruised head.

"You two fell off the cliff side and miraculous, there were some ledges that stopped your fall quite a bit but bruised you in the process. You two were lucky that you landed in a snow pile. Look around you."

All around them of the floor of the ravine, dark rocks jutted out from the thin layer of snow. Had they landed a little to the right or left, their bodies would have smashed open on impact.

"What about the others? Did they fall too?"

"No, they are still up on the cliff. They think you two are dead now."

Suddenly, Blade sat up.

"If we could survive a fall like that, is it possible that Sword lived?"

Kamira's eyes softened as her face changed from a slightly agitated one to a sadder one.

"There is something that I should tell you two. Once you have died, you see a lot more than you ever did when you were alive. Floating above your heads, I see the exact date and time that you will die on as if something projected into the air above you. It's kind of like a countdown until you die. Before Sword cut the rope, the time above her head read '_two minutes, 58 seconds'_. I suppose that was probably how long it took for Sword to reach whatever piece of land she hit before she died."

"Y…you mean, you can see when we _die_?"

Kamira nodded.

"I'm afraid to say but some of our friends have very little time left. Based on how long it is taking us to get to the Dark Half, some of them will not return home. I cannot tell either of you when you two will die or who the next to die will be. If I do, I could easily disrupt the future and how it was written to be."

The two looked at the ghost for a long time in disbelief before Bun asked,

"So when will the next one of our friends die?"

After much thought about whether she was allowed to or not, Kamira finally said,

"The last time I looked, they had only one day, four hours, and fifty three seconds left of their life."

Bun and Blade said nothing but their mouths hung open. One of the group would be the next to go, but who?

Kamira looked around them.

"We better get going. You two have to let the others know that you still are living. We also have to get Meta and the others out of the caves. If there is any exit, it certainly will not be where the others are up on the cliff. It would be more likely down here somewhere in a lower elevation."

Unable to find words to say, the two nodded and they were about to follow Kamira when a dark figure emerged from the shadows. The trio turned face to face with the shadow monster as it crept down from the higher rocks to the ravine's floor. Unlike the monsters they had just fought, this one was shadowy like the first creatures they had encountered when they first entered the Mirror World.

The monster held no particular form but rather a shapeless form that kept changing with its every move while its single, glowing eye watched them steadily. Its tentacle-like parts oozed in and out between the crevices of the dark snow covered rocks.

Suddenly, it flew out at them with surprising agility. Bun threw himself to the side, just barely missing the blackish glob. Blade was knocked back as the creature slammed into his chest. His weapon, along with Sword's helmet was knocked out of his hands and landed somewhere in the snow. Blade gasped out and was about to turn to look for his friend's helmet when the monster began ripping at his armor. Blade felt the monster claw at his thick armor, hunting for some place to ooze into the inside of his armor and latch on to him.

Blade kicked at the monster, trying to push it off him, but the monster seemed to absorb the blow. Bun suddenly leapt into the air, sword raised above his head and he stabbed it down into the monster. It thrashed about, sending Blade flying into the rocks as it turned its attention to Bun.

Bun looked down into the monster's eyes. The memory of watching his sister get attacked by one just like it came back to him. As he yanked his sword out and land a few feet away, he felt the weapon quiver in his hands.

The monster expanded its body as far as it could, trying to intimidate the boy. It retreated back a few feet before it stopped. Suddenly, it contracted before sinking towards the ground. Bun watched as it seemed to liquefy and reach out towards him. He jumped up onto a larger rock just as the monster washed over the area he had been just moments before.

Slowly, the monster receded back where it had been and finally into the rocks. It disappeared for a full minute. Bun and Blade held their weapons out, ready to take on the monster. Suddenly, it emerged again, holding the fallen helmet of sword. It tossed it in the air, as if to taunt Blade to come near to retrieve it. Blade almost took the bait before Bun grabbed his arm and held him back. They watched as the monster engulfed the armor before it took shape. It transformed into the figure that hurt Blade the most.

Sword.

The fake Sword stood up and looked down at the trio. Almost every last detail was a perfect replica of Sword except it was a lot darker and seemed more like a lifeless husk rather than a lively apprentice girl.

The monster drew the sword now in its belt and waved it in the air challengingly. It suddenly leapt into the air and Blade and Bun were forced to separate. Bun watched as the monster turned towards Blade and lunged out. The apprentice was thrown back into the wall with a powerful force as the monster struck him in the chest. He collapsed to the rocky ground before rolling to the side, barely missing the fatal attack that would have landed a sword straight through his neck.

He got up and dodged the next few attacks before retaliating. The monster flipped backwards with ease and landed on the tall rock above Blade. The fake Sword leapt into the air and slammed its weight into Blade, knocking him into a hard rock. Pinning him down, the monster transformed back into the blob like form and tilted Blade's weak head back, ready to strike at his neck when Bun came down upon the two of them. The monster looked straight up just as Bun stabbed it in the eye. The monster made a mad dance as the sword sank in further. Finally, after thrashing about and slamming into the rocks, it collapsed in a large cloud of smoke. Coughing, Bun squinted his eyes to find Blade and help the apprentice up. The smoke cleared and the trio found themselves looking at a glowing orb like the one at the lake.

"It's another spirit!" Kamira exclaimed as she floated over.

Slowly, Bun approached it and held it in his hands. It glowed even brighter as he touched it. Breaking the orb open on a rock, the trio watched as the spirit of another soul came out. This time, it held the form of a warrior with dark pants and a long sleeve shirt. His face was covered with a metal helmet but his voice came out clear.

_"Brave warrior who has come forth to free I, the long road ahead hast many perils with its turns. Your skills have improved from a young lad to an honorable knight. Thou will be greatly needed by you and thy friends as you venture forth. Trust not the Dark One and let your spirit guide thy destiny. Farewell until anon. When the road ends, the fallen will come to your aid..."_

The light around the man became less bright as the spirit disappeared into Bun's sword. Kamira floated over.

"Ugh. Looks like I'm going to be sharing space with someone else now!"

Bun held up his sword as he looked at its sharp blade.

"What in the world did he mean by all that talk? Something about watching out for some Dark One and dead people coming back, right?"

Kamira was about to answer when the two heard Blade sob out. They turned to find him sprawled in the snow, trying to recollect the pieces of Sword's helmet that had blown apart when the monster was defeated. Each time he tried to pick up a piece, it would break apart into an even small shard. The two sadly watched as Blade cried out for his lost friend.

* * *

Kirby drew his sword out just as the monster lunged towards him. He thrust the flat side of the blade and it smacked the monster square on its snout. It retreated but continued circling. This one seemed more patient than the rest to get its meal as it waited for the best chance to strike.

Above them, Escargon and the two twins watched in horror as their friends get attacked viciously. They backed away from the edge, trying to think of what to do. Lololo and Lalala turned to Escargon desperately.

"You must have _some _kind of plan!" They cried out.

Escargon looked at them.

"I…I don't know what to do!"

The two twins turned back to the lake's waters as they watched Kirby and Sirica continue fighting the monsters. The snail moved closer to the shadows and curled up as tight as he could.

_It's not fair that everyone thinks that _I _have some kind of plan! I'm no genius!_

He winced as he heard Sirica scream out in pain as one of the tiger-like piranhas tear through her body. He did not want his friends to die, but he did not know how to save them.

He looked around frantically, trying to keep his head clear from the poisonous air but search for something of use. He moved away from the lake and over to the far end of the room where the water trickled down into the lake in a steady stream. It appeared that a large body of water laid behind it, just waiting for a chance to flood the cavern. Glancing up, his eyes followed a long, deep crack that ran down the ceiling towards the very center. Suddenly, he had an idea.

He ran back towards the cliff that over looked the lake and picked up Meta Knight's fallen sword. The plain sword was not as shiny as Galaxia was, nor held the same greatness, but it was strong. He was about to run back to the other end of the room when he thought about Meta Knight. If his plan worked, it was possible that Meta Knight would get crushed by the falling rocks.

Tucking the sword carefully under his arm, Escargon dragged the knight along the rocky path over to a safer part of the room. Unlike the others who were still conscious, he would not be able to get to safety on his own.

The snail drew out the sword and glanced at the stream of water and then at the large crack. It would have to work to save Kirby and Sirica.

Lololo and Lalala were still watching Kirby and Sirica desperately fight off the monster, occasionally shouting out to them when a monster was about to strike them from behind when everyone stopped. A great rumble filled the room. Glancing towards the far end of the room, the others gasped.

Escargon had hacked and slashed with all of his strength into the opening where the water came out and as more and more water rushed forward, the powerful flow of the water forced the opening to be even wider. Water flooded into the caverns, sweeping Kirby and Sirica towards the back end of the room. The crack on the ceiling became wider and wider as the water pushed its way forward and the group watched as ceiling began to crumble. Giant rocks and ice chunks rained down upon the lake. The Noise was like thunder that echoed around the cavern. Lololo and Lalala flew forward and heaved Kirby and Sricia up out of the water in a moment of strength just before a slab of rock fell down into the water where they had been just a few seconds ago. Fresh air rushed in as well as the poisonous gases were forced out and the others gasped the air in.

Finally, the falling rocks became fewer and fewer and the glowing light of the setting sun shone into the once dark caverns. Kirby, Sirica, and the two twins pulled themselves out of the rubble and stood on top of it. Escargon came over to them, smiling triumphantly.

"I did it! I got us all out of that horrid cavern!"

Kirby smiled but it changed back into a concerned face.

"Where's my father?"

Leading them back to the far end of the room, they pushed away the smaller rocks and pulled Meta Knight out of the rock piles. Setting him down on a flat slab of rock, Kirby shook his father.

After pouring some of the lake water on the knight, he coughed and spluttered as his eyes opened. He stood up but immediately fell backwards into the rubble from dizziness.

"Unh…What happened?" He groaned before he looked at the bloody figures of Kirby and Sirica. "Were we attacked?"

"Yeah, but the dangers over. We better get out of here and find the others."

They climbed out into daylight and glanced around them. They appeared to be at the bottom of a ravine with mists high above. Snow covered much of the dark rocks that filled the bottom, making some parts slippery. They made their way through the unlevel bottom until they heard the faint sobs of someone. Walking around a corner, they came face to face with Bun, Blade, and Kamira. Surprised to see the other, they immediately filled in on what each had encountered. They turned to Blade who was still in the snow but no longer crying. Meta Knight slowly walked over to him and looked down at the shattered remains of Sword's helmet. Carefully picking the largest shard up, Meta Knight held out his hand.

"Blade, give me your sword."

Slowly, the apprentice handed the knight the weapon and he watched as Meta Knight's gloves began to glow bright red. The dark green piece of metal soon melted in a large molten glob. The knight carefully placed it on the hilt of Blade's sword and let it cool. The fragment of metal now was like a bright jewel at the end of the sword where it would remain there forever. Blade held out his hands as Meta Knight placed the sword back into his gloves without a word.

"Th…thank you sir." Blade sniffed.

The now larger group gazed upwards towards the mist. There were no ledges that would lead back up towards the rest of the group.

"What now?" Lololo asked out loud for the group, who were all thinking the same thing.

"We better find the others so we can all continue on," Meta Knight said as his eyes became pure white and his body began to shimmer.

* * *

Up closer to the mountain peaks, Clara, Wolfwrath, Dedede, Knuckle Joe, and Tokkori looked down where Bun and Blade had fallen. Along with them, Kamira had been taken too.

"Sword…Bun…Blade…Kamira…they're all gone…"

Tokkori landed on top of Dedede's hat as he continued to look down.

"Was this what that girl meant when many wouldn't return back to Dreamland?"

No one answered his question. The answer seemed obvious to them, although somewhere far below, Bun and Blade landed in a pile of snow, unconscious, but otherwise unharmed.

Knuckle Joe glanced up toward the shadowy veil.

"The longer we stay here, the more friends we will lose. Hopefully wherever Kirby and the others are, they are safe."

Wolfwrath withdrew from the edge and began slowly walking up the ledge's path. The others followed the wolf soon after, none of them saying anything more.

A while later, after much trekking, Tokkori spoke.

"So how are we going to continue one once we reach the top of the mountain we are on? There is no connecting ledge to take us over there," He asked, noting the wide gap from where they were and to the shadowy veil.

"_We will have to see when we get there," Wolfwrath_ answered in her mind with almost an agitated voice, as if she did not want to talk.

Tokkori blinked as he looked from the mountain peak to their destination. There would be no way to evade the space leading to nowhere but darkness. Wolfwrath, however, seemed confident enough that they would find a way to the Dark Half and was only pushing the group to keep going.

The air became considerably thinner as they continued up the spiraling path. Breathing became difficult but still bearable. In parts, Wolfwrath nearly lost her footing and the group would panic for a few moments before she would press on after getting up. They finally clambered on to a wide ledge overlooking the deep valley between the mountains. Clara began to look ill again as her face became pale and the bright pink on her cheeks disappeared. Wolfwrath settled down in the snow close to the mountain's icy walls and carefully lifted Clara off of her back. She curled around Clara like a furry blanket, keeping both the puffball and her unborn baby warm.

The others sank into the snow and rested. Even as the snow built up around them, they didn't say anything more. Wolfwrath, Clara, and Tokkori all fell asleep soon after from weariness, leaving Dedede and Knuckle Joe.

"What do you think we'll run into once we pass the Border?" Knuckle Joe asked quietly, not taking his eyes off of the Dark Half's veils.

"Who knows? All I want is to go home!" Dedede said miserably. "We're being picked off one by one! We're all going to die here!"

"Gramps, just hand in there. We are almost to the other tower."

"Haven't you realized that our group has shrunk to only five people?!" Dedede exclaimed, almost as if in hysterics.

"Kirby, Meta Knight and the others are…still okay," Knuckle Joe answered, voice slightly faltering towards the end from his uncertainty of his statement.

However, it seemed to have the desired effect. Dedede relaxed a little as he thought about the others. After a while, the penguin asked,

"The good guys always win in the end, right?"

"…Sometimes. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," Dedede mumbled.

The two watched as the small snowflakes drift down from the sky. Each one glittered like a tiny mirror. As they looked up towards the skies, they both thought about their home planets. The sky here seemed to resemble the sky back in the Dimensional World perfectly, except instead of having the universe residing above it, this sky was nothing more that a ceiling. The Mirror World they were in did not expand on into eternity. In a way, they were confined to a small bit of land and sky.

"If we ever make it back home, what are you planning to do, without Nightmare gone for the time and no demonbeasts?" Dedede asked after a while.

"Maybe I will become a soldier in the GSA like my father was and fight alongside Kirby when there's trouble," Knuckle Joe answered smoothly. "Even with Nightmare gone, there will always be someone or something that will cause tension in the universe. It doesn't take a monarch like Nightmare to start a war."

"Why go to the trouble?"

Knuckle Joe closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the wall.

"I might as well make myself useful in the universe since we all have limited time to do something honorable."

"True," Dedede said, turning to him. "I wish I could do something brave. Just for once, I want to know what it's like…being the hero."

"Your chance will come, Gramps. Maybe sooner that you expect."

Since the others were still sleeping, they sat around, occasionally getting up to warm up their muscles. Dedede got up and made his way around the corner of the icy wall and sat on the edge of the cliff, letting his feet dangle above the empty air.

_Kirby…Meta Knight…Sword…Blade…Knuckle Joe…Sirica… and Wolfwrath…they all are brave and strong. Even Escargon is more useful than I am! I don't have the smarts like he does or the strength of any of the others. I want to do something good for once that would make the others not look down on me like they do now…_

Suddenly, he heard shouts behind him. Dedede looked up just as a large chunk of ice slammed into a larger piece, forming a small avalanche. He threw himself to the side just as the ice came crashing down in the spot he was in. Dedede watched as the entire portion of the ledge disappeared. Had he not been able to get out of the way, he would have disappeared along with it, falling to the unknown depths.

He ran back to the area where he and the others had been and nearly froze on the spot. Before him, a shadowy monster advanced towards the others, now fully awake. The monster highly resembled a shadowy Venus Fly Trap. Its mouth's teeth like parts curled inward like claws and large spiky leaves acted as its hands. Roots trailed all around it, plunging into the mountain to keep hold on it. Dark fluids dripped down from its body, burning through the snow and ice as soon as it touched it, almost like acid. It suddenly lunged out towards the others.

Its head slammed down into the ice, making it break as the others leapt to the side. Clara screamed as blown bits of ice tore through her face. She fell backwards into the snow, small trickles of blood flowing out in several places. The monster turned, seeing that it missed its prey and faced the weak and helpless figure of Clara. Its roots snapped out like tentacles towards her when Wolfwrath leapt forward. Growling, she slashed into the roots, letting the fluids flow out steadily from its wounds.

The monster thrashed about and like the other shadowy monsters the group had fought in the Mirror World, its screeches were soundless. It turned to her and swiped at the air with its leaves. Caught by surprise, Wolfwrath was struck across the face and she flew into the air before slamming into the wall. Knuckle Joe ran forward the released a barrage of Vulcan Jabs into the monster's chest. It nearly fell off of the mountain side but by shooting more roots into the mountain, it managed to hold on.

That was when Dedede, still watching the battle, realized something. The monster was digging straight through the mountain with its roots to hold on and in the process, was _destroying _the mountain. It would not be long before the entire mountain side would break away. This battle had to be finished soon.

He turned just as the monster threw its body down, hitting Knuckle Joe before it faced the martial arts fighter once again. Knuckle Joe wiped away a stream of blood from the corner of his lip and ran forwards once again.

"Rising break!"

He swung his punch upward, snapping the monster's head back as he unleashed his attack. The monster turned its head to the side, minimizing the damage but even still, the attack had hurt it greatly. Its head expanded slightly as it threw up a large wave of the dark liquids. Knuckle Joe had apparently struck something inside of it, making it bleed from the inside. It pounded at the ground as it tried to crush its attacker. Knuckle Joe taunted it as he dodged the blows.

"Is that all you got?"

Suddenly, the creature stopped at grew still. The others watched it for several moments, waiting for it to strike out. Knuckle Joe lowered his hands, as he watched it curiously when suddenly, its black roots shot out from the ground, knocking him into the air with a surprising force. He was thrown back straight into Clara and Wolfwrath and all three of them fell to the ground. As they were still in the mess of confusion, the monster's roots shot out towards them. Clara managed to slip away just as the roots coiled around Knuckle Joe and Wolfwrath, lifting them up into the air. They kicked and struggled as they were lifted closer to the monster's ghastly jaws.

Dedede grabbed his hammer and without thinking, ran forwards towards the monster. Something seemed to guide his moves as she swung the hammer down into the monster with strength he never realized he had. Much to his surprise, he flipped through the air, barely missing two roots that came swinging out from him in the motion of a pair of scissors and struck the monster again and again. The monster, unable to defend itself from the penguin, backed away towards the edge, dropping Knuckle Joe and Wolfwrath. Dedede continued driving the monster backwards, until it was only about an inch from toppling down into the mists.

Then, with all of the strength he could muster, Dedede smashed his hammer into the monster, forcing its body off of the cliff. Its roots latched onto o the mountain as it desperately attempted to keep itself from falling. Ice and rocks were ripped away from the mountain as if continue to lean further backwards. The others felt the entire mountain shift from all of the roots clawing at its interior and began to give way.

"_Get on my back!" _Wolfwrath shouted.

Without questioning the wolf, all of them got on to her furry back as she ran to the far end of the ledge. Then slowly, she faced the far mountains where the shadowy veils loomed ahead. Tokkori squawked out in surprise as he realized what WOlfwrath was planning to do.

"You're not going to make it! We're going to die!"

Ignoring the bird completely, Wolfwrath backed up as far as she could before bowing her head close to the ground. Suddenly, she sprang forward, running towards the other side as fast as a race horse. The others could feel the wind rush past them as they came closer and closer. Wolfwrath took one last final push before she leapt high into the air. The others screamed as they sailed over empty air. Behind them, the entire mountain crumbled as the monster took it down with it. The creature soon disappeared into the mists along with the falling rock and ice.

The others watched in amazement as Wolfwrath began to descend lower towards the far mountain's ledges. Her front two paws landed neatly on to the cliff side when suddenly, the ledge broke away slightly and her back legs landed on to empty air. She clawed at the icy ledge as she tried to pull herself and other others back on to the mountain. Dedede and Knuckle Joe had fallen off of her back and were hanging on to her fluffy tail. Wolfwrath let out a low growl as the pain worsened every second. Her claws slipped away each time she tried to reach forward. Clara and Tokkori got off of her back and tried to pull her up.

Slowly, inch by inch, Wolfwrath pulled herself up on to the cliff side, as she dug her claws in as deep as possible. Finally, the entire group leaned against the icy side of the mountain, still trying to regain breath from the long minute of panic.

As the group looked back to each other, Clara, Dedede, and Tokkori gasped. On both Wolfwrath and Knuckle Joe, Dark Marks were beginning to consume them from the areas where the monster had touched them.

* * *

**A/N: **Things are not looking to good for Wolfwrath and Knuckle Joe. The Dark Marks equal death. I called this chapter 'countdown' since from this chapter; we learn that Kamira can see the exact dates and times when the people in the group will die, almost like a countdown to their deaths. The next one to die will be very soon, but who will it be?

Please review and vote!


	9. Chapter IX: Land of Shadows

**A/N: **0____o the group is now going to enter the Dark Half finally. The elder from the Bay Village warned them about getting near the shadows of the mountain pass. What lurks in the darkness directly before the shadowy veils of the Dark Half?

Also, what is beyond the Border?

**Disclaimer: **I do now own anyone except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 9: Land of Shadows--**

The others watched as Meta Knight transformed into his true figure as a black dragon. Now larger than the space around him, Meta Knight had to twist and turn to get his large wings unbent and lower his neck to allow the others on to his back. Just as they were about to climb up, ice and rocks began to fall from the mists above. They ducked just as a particularly large piece slammed down on to the frozen ground. The Black Angel coiled around the others protectively and shielded them all from the falling debris with his wings. The others listened as more and more rocks and ice chunks fell when suddenly, a large rumble shook the ground.

Something else had fallen from above as well besides the rock and ice.

As soon as the avalanche stopped and less and less small pieces of rubble fell through the gaps that the dragon's wings did not cover, the others looked up. Up to his neck, Meta Knight was buried in deep rock and snow but the others were still able to climb out. The black dragon moved to free himself but more and more rubble filled the space with each rock and ice he cleared away from him.

Suddenly, a large mound rose up from the deep piles of rock and ice a few yards away as black tentacle-like strands seeped out from the cracks. The group gasped as the head of the Venus fly trap monster appeared. Without knowing it, their friends on the high cliffs above had not finished off the monster, instead sending it down for them to deal with. The monster was greatly maddened now from Wolfwrath, Dedede, and Knuckle Joe's attacking it and now was ready to unleash its fury on the ones standing before it.

Before the group could react any further, the monster's roots shot out like hands, intent on strangling them. They threw themselves to the side just as the roots swept over the air above them and slammed into the icy walls of the ravine, sending ice shards in all directions. Covering their heads, the ice rained down upon the group, cutting through any exposed part.

Meta Knight, unable to move from where he was in fear of triggering another avalanche, released a large ray of fire towards the creature. It moved swiftly to the side as it crouched towards the ground like a wildcat stalking prey. Its roots plunged into the rubble piles, making their way towards the group to catch them by surprise. The others barely moved out of the way just as roots shot into the air. They charged out towards Kamira, expecting to wrap themselves around flesh but instead, found nothing but air. The roots drew back slightly as they seemed to discover that Kamira was a ghost and moved on to some other victim.

Kirby raised Galaxia into the air as he, Bun, Blade, and Sirica charged forward towards the monster in a hit-and-go wave. They leapt over the roots that threatened to knock them over and infect them with the Black Marks and rolled under its spiky leaves. They hacked and stabbed into the creature and it thrashed about, only making its wounds worse. Its head leaned forwards as it threw up more of its blood, nearly getting it all over the small group as they retreated back.

Kirby bit down on his lip as he watched the monster become even more frustrated and picked up a large chunk of rock out of the ravine's walls and held it high over its head. Without the need to shout out any orders, Kirby and the others separated as the boulder came crashing down on the spot they had just been standing on.

Pulling Galaxia back, Kirby released a sword beam straight towards the monster, but only managed to slice off a few of its roots as it shifted to get out of the way. The monster backed up towards the icy walls and it arched its head back, ready to strike. Slamming its head down, the monster sent thousands of pieces of ice and rock towards the group like a giant wave. They all were thrown back by the force and lay in a heap, all with thin lines of blood running down their faces.

"Dad! Help us!" Kirby shouted as he looked towards his father.

"_I might kill you all in the process if I try!" _Meta Knight answered back as he watched the monster rear back for another attack. _"Watch out!"_

Kirby turned back just as the monster threw its roots forward. The pink Star Warrior rolled to the side just as the roots slammed into the ice behind him. He got up and made his way back to the others, not letting his eyes leave the figure of the monster.

"We're going to have to do this together. Aim for its chest, it seems to be already bleeding a lot from there. Ready?"

The others drew their weapons out and nodded silently. Together, they ran forward, ducking and weaving past the roots flying out at them at high speeds. Sirica fired away at the monster, forcing it to hold its tentacles to defend itself rather than attacking. The bullets seemed to get absorbed into the creature but nevertheless, it helped the others advance forward. Suddenly, two large roots swung out at them. Blade and Bun turned to each other before drawing their swords back and releasing a powerful sword beam that crisscrossed over the other. Kirby leapt into the air, just above the sword beams and stabbed Galaxia into the heart of the creature. Its roots snapped back towards it as it frantically attempted to swat Kirby off of it and pull the blade out.

Kirby was thrown back just before the roots slammed into him and he tumbled down to the snowy ground. He watched as the creature bent over its body, trying to reduce the pain just as Meta Knight bent his head back and shot out a bright stream of electricity. The creature blew up in a large blast of sparks and smoke filled the ravine. The group coughed as their eyes watered, searching for fresh air. Finally, the smoke cleared and the group found themselves looking towards a glowing orb.

"It seems like each of these shadow monsters have a spirit trapped inside it," Escargon said in awe.

This time, Kirby stepped forwards the sliced it open with a swift motion of Galaxia. The spirit inside became brighter as it transformed into its true figure. The others watched as the silhouette of an animal-like creature appear before their eyes and the light dimmed. The spirit highly resembled a golden bird with majestic wings.

A phoenix.

"_Young warrior, the path ahead holds great trials awaiting you. Remain strong and keep you and your friends moving to the end. Bring the father to his daughter and follow fate. Farewell…"_

The group watched as the phoenix became the figure of an orb again and disappeared into Kirby's sword. They all stood there for a minute, puzzled by the last part of what the bird had said. Kamira appeared to be deep in thought as she floated behind the others. She realized what the true meaning of it was but did not say anything.

_Looks like it's up to me…hope the others will be okay while I'm gone._

Nobody noticed as the ghost vanished from sight and floated up out of the ravine and towards the Mirror Tower in the distance.

"_Stand back, I'm going to pull myself out of here!"_

The others turned as Meta Knight began pulling himself free from the rubble. They jumped back just as more rocks and ice chunks fell from the pile as he moved. Suddenly, his entire body shot up through the debris and moved aside just as a large wave of the rubble came down upon where he had just been, creating a second avalanche. The others had to run to get out of the way as it came crashing down before it finally settle again. The black dragon stepped down from the large mounds and lowered his body for the others to get on.

"_We don't have much time to waste. If my assumptions are correct, more than half of the hourglass has gone. We still need to reach the Border."_

Without a word, the others climbed up on to his back and they held on as he flew them straight out of the ravine and out into the open air.

* * *

It was not long after Wolfwrath, Knuckle Joe, Clara, Dedede, and Tokkori had begun to move forward again when a large shadow fell upon them from overhead. Looking up, they shouted in a wave of relief to the others perched on the black dragons back as Meta Knight flew towards the high mountain cliff they were on. Soon, they were all reunited and the knight held Clara in his arms, relieved that she was okay.

"Bun! Blade!" We thought you two died!" Dedede nearly laughed out as he squeezed the life out of the two in a large hug.

Wolfwrath came slowly up to Meta Knight licking the knight as her way of showing her relief that he was okay. As soon as Meta Knight looked up, his eyes flashed orange as he gasped. Backing away, his eyes looked in horror at the Dark Marks on her body. Already, they were growing and covered two of her legs and parts of her chest and back. The others fell silent as they realized what had happened. Their eyes looked both Wolfwrath and Knuckle Joe.

"W…Wolfwrath…" Meta Knight murmured.

He sank to the snow close to the wolf but not to close from his fear of the Dark Marks. Wolfwrath let out a low whine like a dog would as she hung her head.

"_Prince…I want…to serve and protect you…as long as I can…" _She said slowly.

The others watched as Meta Knight's body shook slightly.

"No. I won't let you die. We have to keep moving. Both you and Joe must keep going. If we can lift the curse, you two can be saved before…"

Meta Knight did not finish before he fell silent. He did not want to say that the two would die if the curse could not be lifted. Not only would they slowly get engulfed by the Dark Marks, they would slowly suffocate if the marks covered their faces and their flesh would be burned as if acid had been poured all over them.

Silently, the others nodded and followed the knight towards an open area where he transformed back into the black dragon. They were all on board his back in less than a minute and they felt the air rush past them as they lifted into the sky. They weaved through the mountains, getting closer and closer to the shadowy veils as minutes past and soon, they landed in the deep snow before the wide channel through the mountain and directly before the very walls of the Dark Half. Long shadows fell across the path, leaving only a small bit of path under the light to cross.

Transforming back, Meta Knight gazed at the path where not one thing stirred.

"I sense something in the shadows…this must be what the elder of the Bay Village had talked about…" He said quietly before turning to the others. "Whatever you do, keep out of the shadows. Something about it is making me feel nervous."

Slowly, they followed Meta Knight as they came closer to the mountain pass. Single filed, they made their way along the narrow path illuminated by light, careful to keep themselves out of the shadows along with their weapons and coats. For someone the size as Bun, it was easy to stay out of the dark areas but for Wolfwrath and Dedede, they had to carefully make their way down the path as their size nearly made it impossible for them to not allow any of the shadows on to them. Meta Knight held Clara and Kirby close to him as they made their way through the ominous mountain pass. Wolfwrath let out a low growl as she fought the urge to swish her tail. Holding it in place was a lot harder than it had been imagined to be. If her tail moved a little, it would cross over into the dark areas where unknown dangers lurked.

She could not fight it anymore and her tail moved slightly to the side, when suddenly she was yanked back into the shadows. The others turned as they watched her struggle under unseen forces. Blood suddenly flew into the air as something ripped at her body. She howled out in pain as more and more slashes covered her body, quickly soaking the snow with dark red.

Without hesitation, Kirby drew Galaxia out. The sword glowed brightly as he ran forward. The shadows seemed to shrink back as the sword ate away at the darkness. As the light fell upon Wolfwrath, she was released from whatever had been attacking her and the wolf dragged herself back to the path while Kirby kept the sword at the ready to attack when necessary. The shadows seemed to move around him, trying to find some area where the monsters could attack without showing themselves. Finally, as Wolfwrath clambered up to where the others were, Meta Knight ran over to her and gasped as his eyes fell upon the massive wounds all over her body. Drawing his sword, he pointed its sharp blade out towards the shadows and shouted,

"Come out here and fight!"

Wolfwrath raised her furry head in alarm.

"_Prince! Stop!"_

Suddenly in the air, large eyes with black pupils appeared. Blinking, their pupils enlarged like a cat's as they examined the group. More and more appeared in the shadows, advancing forward. All at once, they swarmed out into the light.

Their bodies only consisted of their single but massive eye and long, stringy tentacles that hung down like the stingers of a jellyfish. As soon as they were out in the sunlight, the others could see that their bodies gave off a faint purple glow along with their tentacles. Just as the group was about to draw their swords, the jellyfish-like monsters whipped out their tentacles as sparks fizzled around the strands.

The closest jellyfish began to spin around like an electrified top, dancing madly through the air. Kirby swung Galaxia out, catching the monster from behind. Its eye bulged as it burst into a mess of goop with a purple hue.

Other monsters began to attack. Dedede was the unfortunate one to be the first to try to retaliate. Its tentacles flashed a bright light as it emitted its electricity. Dedede yelped and jumped back, from the sudden wave of the high powered current. Meta Knight turned to Wolfwrath who had just stood up to face the monsters.

"Get everyone out of here now!" He shouted as he slashed through one of the creatures, sending goop flying in all directions.

Reluctantly, Wolfwrath nodded and herded Dedede, Escargon, Clara, Tokkori, and the two Lola twin out of the fray and over towards the far end of the channel where there was a large are of light directly before the shadowy veils.

No longer cautious of trying to stay out of the shadows, Kirby, Meta Knight, Bun, Blade, Sirica, and Knuckle Joe stood back to back as they took down the monsters, disrupting more and more from their slumber under the cover of the shadows. As Meta Knight destroyed the one in front of him, another suddenly came from behind and pinned him down to the frozen ground, securing his arms down with its tentacles. Met Knight felt electricity run through his body as it emitted its high voltage. Temporarily paralyzed, he watched as it leaned its single eye towards his face. It began to viciously claw at his body, ripping away mercilessly at his cape and flesh.

He felt his gloves and cape dampen as more and more blood soaked into it. Somewhere, he heard Clara scream out for him.

By coiling its tentacles together, the monster formed a sharp point that could match a dagger. Meta Knight cried out in pain as it thrust its tentacles downward, missing his eyes but stabbing into his arm. Kirby turned around as another monster fell to Galaxia and ran forwards towards his father. Just as the monster was about to land a killing strike on Meta Knight, Galaxia stabbed through the back of its eye to the retina. The knight watched as purplish fluids spurted out as it collapsed, releasing him. He stood up, nodded to Kirby, and together, they charged out towards the remaining monsters.

Unlike most of the monsters the group had fought, these ones were particularly easy, given that they did not attack from behind. Their swift moves made it difficult to get behind them, but by using teamwork, their numbers diminished until not one of the jellyfish monsters could be found. The channel was completely silent as the group looked around them. Smiling triumphantly that none of them had been lost to the battle, they ran back to the others.

Meta Knight glanced up at the veils that hung directly in front of them like thick curtains. Just as he was about to suggest they enter and finally face the one behind the creation of all of the monsters, a shadow fell upon him. Wolfwrath turned in horror. Before the Black Angel could move, the wolf leapt into the air above him, a sinking her claws into the final jellyfish monster that had been about to strike. The knight watched, eyes orange in shock as the monster's tentacles came together and rotated faster and faster, creating a drill. It stabbed its new weapon straight into the heart of Wolfwrath as the two came down upon Meta Knight, knocking him back under the wolf. The others watched as its drill rip and tear at the insides of Wolfwrath as she defended the Prince. Her eyes glowed bright red along with the jewel that crowned her forehead as she slashed out at the monster.

Blood splattered across the snow as well as the purplish goop from the monster. Wolfwrath suddenly yanked it forward, much to the surprise of the monster who had been expecting her to try to push it away. Her jaws closed around the monster as she tore at its flesh. The monster's first reaction was to try to escape from her and it frantically struggled from within the row of sharp teeth to escape from her grasp, even removing its tentacles to assist it. Wolfwrath bit down harder and more fluids filled her mouth, dripping down from the sides. Her eyes widened as she choked on the liquid but she continued to sink her teeth in further. Its struggling became more and more desperate until finally, it went limp. The wolf spat it out, coughing and choking on its body fluids. The others rushed over to Meta Knight and her as the corpse of the monster collapsed on to the ground. The others pulled the knight out from under her and almost immediately, he came up to her side and shook her. Coughing out more of the fluids and her own blood, Wolfwrath slowly turned to him.

"_Prince…"_

The jewel on her head as well as her eyes began to turn dim as more blood came out of her. Her insides had been ripped horribly away from their proper places and even with excess care; it would not be enough to save her. Long streams of bloody demonbeast tears flowed down from Meta Knight's mask and even from Lololo and Lalala's faces.

"We have to keep going! Everything will be fine, just don't die now!" Meta Knight murmured desperately to her.

He stood up, still holding on to her fur as her face looked up to him.

"_Prince…don't…leave me…"_

Meta Knight soon sank back to the snow as he pressed his mask into her fur, no longer afraid about the Dark Marks.

"Don't die…don't die…" He repeated over and over again, shaking his head slowly as he clutched her fur even more tightly.

The others watched, unable to find words to say as the wolf's eyes clouded over along with the once bright and lively jewel on her head. Meta Knight did not say anything for a long time, almost as if he understood that the wolf was dead but did not want to look up and see that it was true. Finally, Meta Knight stood up slowly and faced the others. His eyes glowed dark blue in grief.

"Go on to the Dark Half. I…will catch up later…I need…to pay my last respects…to her," He said in a shaky voice.

Slowly, the others nodded and left Meta Knight alone as he buried his face into the bloodied fur of the one friend who had understood him in a world of fear in misery. Kirby and Clara stayed behind to wait for the knight as the others held their breaths as they stepped through the shadowy veils.

* * *

The first glimpse of the Dark Half had the group staring in awe as they stepped on to the black ground silently. Everything here, from the land and sky, to the basic concept of gravity was distorted. The soil was pure black with no green plants growing out from it. Large water drop-like figures would suddenly rise up from the ground and disappear into the red, hazy skies among its unnatural gold clouds. The group had to move out of the way as the ground under them liquefied and drifted into the air, defying almost all laws of gravity.

Looking off into the distance, the group gasped. Bordering the edge of the wide plains of sulfuric acid spewing out from eruptions from the earth, the faint form of a black tower rose up past the clouds.

The Tower of Shadows.

Above the near exact replica of the Mirror Tower was a wide rip in the sky that held a brilliant radiance. The exit. The way home seemed to be like a key just out of reach to a locked cell door.

Soon after the others came in, Kirby, Meta Knight, and Clara appeared behind them, rejoining the group. Only two of the three seemed just as awed by the sigh around them. Meta Knight's eyes were gold now, but they did not shine like usual. His body still shook slightly as the others turned to them. Glancing upwards at the others' concerned expressions, Meta Knight shook his head slowly and walked past them all without any words. Not knowing what else they should do, the group followed him at his uncomfortable brisk pace across the strange new land.

The landscape kept changing the further they ventured in. Figures that resembled dead trees swayed in a distorted motion like a reflection on a disrupted body of water. The group would jump back when the ground near them would suddenly erupt, releasing a cloud of toxins in the air. Meta Knight however, kept walking forward without the slightest sign of hesitation. Kirby shivered slightly. The others may not have been able to sense it, but he could feel the murderous anger that swelled around his father like dark storm clouds.

They passed crumbling ruins of what looked like starships and other machinery. Everything was rusted over beyond identification. The group continued past the remains, but they could not shake off the feeling that they were being watched.

Kirby decided that now was the time to try to approach his father. He hesitantly walked up to Meta Knight's side as the knight stopped to gaze at the Tower of Shadows. As he looked up at his father, he gasped. Meta Knight's eyes were blood red. They did not even turn to look at the young Star Warrior as the Veteran spoke.

"Leave me alone," He hissed.

Shocked, Kirby watched as his father continued on without looking back towards his son. The pink Star Warrior felt his insides freeze over, but he could not find words to say.

The group stopped after a while when nearly all of them were about to collapse in exhaustion from trying to keep up with Meta Knight. The knight glanced at them, eyes still red but he did not say anything and finally stopped to let them rest. Clara was having the most trouble as she no longer had Wolfwrath to give her a ride when she could not walk any longer. She constantly would glance up towards Meta Knight, but like the others, she was too afraid to say anything.

Meta Knight seemed to gradually settle down as he sat by himself away from the others close to the jagged rocks of the clearing. Kirby took a deep breath and walked forwards.

"Dad?"

Meta Knight did not turn respond. Kirby made his way over to him and sat down right beside his father. The knight did not turn to him but Kirby could see that his eyes were dark blue again.

"Kirby…I'm..sorry that I…snapped at you earlier," Meta Knight said quietly.

Kirby smiled a little as his eyes softened.

"I understand. Wolfwrath…was a good friend of yours…" He said, quickly realizing that he should not have mentioned the wolf's name.

Meta Knight however, did not get the sudden flash of grief and anger like Kirby expected but instead, exhaled slowly. His leathery bat wings unfolded from under his cape and came around Kirby, pulling the pink Star Warrior closer.

"Wolfwrath and I have known each other for a long time. She has…done more for me than I have for her," He said, eyes turning green.

Kirby listened quietly as his father continued on.

"A couple hundred years ago after I was created, after SailorDee became my servant, and after he slowly brought me out from the darkness I had lived in to the light, Nightmare and I had a fight. He had wanted me to open my body up to him so he could combine the two of us together. However, I realized what his true intentions were behind what he had said about that 'the Empire would be stronger under two rulers'. True, he did not lie about that there would be two rulers…but only one would have the control. He wanted me to be his puppet. By using me, he could be in two places at the same time, and expand his empire even wider than it already was." He said slowly. "When I realized this, I tried to turn him away from it, saying that the Empire was already powerful under his rule. That was when he questioned my loyalty to him…" Meta Knight said, trailing off at the end.

Behind them, Kirby noticed the silence as the others had stopped their conversations and were listening to Meta Knight' story. The knight seemed oblivious to everything around him, including his son and even the dark tower rising from the distance.

"I admit, I probably made one of the biggest mistakes I ever made at that time. I said that he was mistaken to think I did not serve him, but that only made him interrogate me further. He handed me a sword and asked me to draw my blood out for him. I…was afraid of blood, even though I thrived on it, I knew well of how seeing it or sensing it would make me out of control, even if it was my own blood. Nightmare knew my fears. He pressed me more and more. Either way I took, if I drew my blood out for him or gave up my body to him, he would have gotten what he wanted; so instead, I pointed the sword at him. I shouted out how I refused to be his slave and how I would join the GSA one day, just to go against him. He was shocked by my outburst and he reached out to grab me when I took the sword and stabbed it as hard as I could into his hand."

Kirby suddenly recalled the story Kabu had told him, Fumu, and Bun about so long ago about the one demonbeast that had turned against Nightmare. Before, everyone had assumed _he _had been that demonbeast. His father had been the one and only demonbeast to defy Nightmare.

"Nightmare became angry. He shattered the chessboard that I had been unfortunately standing on with his fist and he snatched from the air. He called upon his guards and ordered them to take me to one of the lab rooms. I was strapped down to the metal table and Nightmare probed through my mind. After he realized that the programming in my mind had been altered, he became afraid of me."

"Nightmare? _Afraid_?" Kirby said in disbelief.

"Yes, Nightmare had created me to be close genetically to him. I held some of the same powers he did and the authority over the demonbeasts. He feared that if I became too strong for him to restrain, I would turn against him and lead a group to destroy him. I knew almost all of the information needed for that; I knew the layout of almost all of his bases, the security systems, and his weaknesses. Almost immediately, he had me pinned down as his guards fitted a straightjacket over me."

"They put you in a straightjacket?" Kirby asked, almost wanting to smile a little as he tried to picture his father in one.

"It was a specially modified one so that I could not reach out with my mind and try to undo any of the security they put around me. I killed three of the guards before I was unable to resist against them. I had begged for Nightmare to forgive me, but he would not take any chances. He had me brought into a tomb-like chamber and I remember how terrified I was when they locked the metal guard over my face. I had to remain in that chamber for longer than a century, dormant, but still aware of my surroundings. Nightmare would sometimes enter the room and taunt me. My strength had been deteriorating and I was forced to listen to him. I felt my anger build up from that tomb, slowly worsening what it was like in there. Nightmare fed off of those emotions, becoming stronger than before. I had stayed there, until finally, Wolfwrath had been created. She was the one who had shut down the systems that had confined me and freed me. I still don't know to this day why she had put her existence at risk for me when she didn't even know who I was…"

As Meta Knight fell silent, signaling that he was finished, Kirby could not help but to hang his mouth open in astonishment.

"Wow…Dad, I never realized you…went through so much…"

Meta Knight's eyes returned to gold again as he looked at Kirby.

"As much as I wished it never happened to me, if I had not stabbed Nightmare, I might have never had the chance to leave Nightmare Enterprises and meet your mother and fall in love with her. You might never have been born and one day defeat Nightmare."

Both he and Kirby stood up and Meta Knight faced Kirby.

"I'm glad that you never had to experience the pain and suffering I went through. Dreamland is a wonderful place…and I will be sure that you all I will be able to return to see it again."

Just as they were about to walk back to the others to continue on, Kirby suddenly gasped out as he collapsed. Meta Knight immediately held Kirby, shaking him.

"Kirby!"

The others rushed over to them as soon as they realized something was wrong. They gasped as they watched Kirby's body shake violently.

"Dad! Dad!" Kirby screamed out as he jerked forward, blood suddenly spurting out from his back.

Turning him over, the group stared at Kirby's back, dumbstruck. Two small points protruded out from his back, causing more blood to flow out with each twitch. Something was _growing _on his back.

Meta Knight's eyes flashed orange as he realized what was happening. He held the pink Star Warrior down firmly to the ground to keep him from struggling too much and calmly shouted over Kirby's cries.

"Kirby! You have to stop struggling and keep your back relaxed. Don't tense up your shoulders! I will only make it harder for your wings to grow!"

"WINGS?!"

Kirby struggled frantically under Meta Knight's firm grip in panic. With every move his wings made to come out, he cried out as more blood pooled around him and his father. The wings came out slowly and painfully, causing the Star Warrior to scream even more. Clara looked at her son, horrified, by Meta Knight's calmness of the situation kept her from panicking enough to faint. After watching many other winged demonbeasts obtain wings in the same manner, the Black Angel knew exactly how to ease the pain.

Holding Kirby close to him, he tore off his cape and wrapped it around the growing wings loosely, keeping it warm to allow the wings to slide out more easily. Blood soaked through the cape in less than a minute but he kept holding it against his son's wings, even though blood was covering him as well.

"Dad! Help me!" Kirby screamed out as his wings jerked out again.

He kicked out, trying to break free from his father's grasp but he was unable to. After a long time of screaming out and more blood flowing out, his wings stopped jerking out violently and grew with a smooth motion. Kirby moaned pitifully but he stopped struggling as much as he had and Meta Knight was able to lessen his grip on him. Breathing heavily, Kirby glanced up towards his father, who returned a reassuring glance. The knight carefully held the base of his wings to keep it straight while they slowly finished growing. By now, Kirby's back looked as if someone had smeared red paint all across him and Meta Knight's gloves were completely soaked through.

As the knight glanced at his son's wings, he suddenly noticed something. From under the fine coat of blood, Kirby's wings were shiny, unlike his. Brushing the dark red off of Kirby's wings, Meta Knight stopped. Kirby's wings opened up with a flourish, ruffling out more of the blood off of his wings. The group gasped.

Unlike Meta Knight's, Kirby's wings were not leathery bat wings.

They were white and feathery—like Galacta Knight's.

No one said a word as they watched Meta Knight rise up from the ground and take a step back in shock, eyes quivering from under his mask.

"You…aren't…my son?"

Kirby stared in surprise at his own wings as he looked behind him. Meta Knight' eyes slowly traced the outline of the feathery angel wings before he looked directly into Clara's eyes in disbelief. Before anyone could stop him, Meta Knight ran, soon disappearing among the darkness of the dead trees, leaving all of them speechless. Clara raised a hand to her open mouth, staring at Kirby's wings.

"Mom?" Kirby managed to choke out.

Now with everyone looking at her, Clara's face reflected what one might have after being convicted of a horrible crime. She gasped out as she realized what the others must have been thinking.

"I never ch…cheated on Meta Knight!" She cried out.

The others looked at her as if they wanted to believe her but could not. Kirby glanced at his angel wings, holding the feathery tips around him. Only moments before, he had been sitting with whom he had thought to be his father.

* * *

Meta Knight did not return after about what the group though to be an hour. The group's progress had slowed down considerably as they trudged through the dark lands. The hourglass, much to the shock of the others, was already more than two thirds gone. Only a small layer of sank remained, slowly falling.

Kirby had to walk slowly, still unaccustomed to his new wings. It felt like a dream, one that he could not wake up from. He constantly had to stop in exhaustion from dragging his wings, which he was unable to fold up neatly like he had seen Meta Knight do. The sudden thought of him made him feel a tinge of sadness. Meta Knight had abandoned his cape when he had run off and Kirby held it in his hands. A lot of his blood had soaked into it. The knight had not hesitated in the slightest to take it off and give it to him, just to help lessen the pain for him.

Clara's face was extremely pale to the point she looked like she was ready to pass out. No one would look at her, let alone help her. Kirby wanted to help her but he too was shocked by how Galacta Knight was possibly his father. He remembered ho the White Angel had laughed at him and even slashed through his face for a bigger prize, Galaxia.

If Kirby had to point to whom loved him more, he would have turned to Meta Knight without hesitation. The knight had sacrificed more for him, even if he might not have been Kirby's true father.

Looking up towards his mother, who was slowly walking some distance away from the others, a thought came to him that made him stop.

_Why does she seemed surprise too?_

Kirby waited for Clara as she came to a stop and looked up, surprised.

"Mom…Tell me, who is my father?"

"M…Meta Knight was and al…always will be," She answered.

Kirby could see that she was honestly answering, but she herself did not know how to explain the feathery wings.

"Everyone…thinks I c…cheated on him…" Clara murmured. "I w…would never do something l…like that! I l…love your father more…than anyone else b…besides you. I never w…wanted Galacta Knight."

Kirby watched as she broke down into more tears. He let her lean against him as he closed his eyes.

"I believe you Mom, but Dad's the one who needs to know the truth more than anything right now."

Clara nodded slowly, brushing her tears off of her eye lashes and she looked at Kirby with appreciation for his understanding. However, her face fell and her eyes held a distance look.

"Everything s…seems to have pulled…us apart…what has h…happened to our f…family?"

As the group traveled across deep ravines and through seas of dead trees, they suddenly came across a familiar figure that emerged from the shadows. Meta Knight.

The group watched as he slowly walked forwards towards them, avoiding the glance of Clara and first came to Kirby. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Kirby…even if I may not be your true father…I will always love you as my son…I wanted you to know that…"

He turned away from Kirby and slowly met the gaze of his wife. His eyes appeared to have no emotion in them but his voice seemed to hold back all of his anger and sadness.

"If you didn't love me, all you had to do was refuse my proposal to you since you didn't think our marriage meant anything."

He pulled down his glove, revealing a metallic arm band embedded with a jewel with deep sea blue hues. The others were quick to guess what it was: a wedding ring.

Clara glanced at her own ring that matched Meta Knight's down to the last detail. _He _had been the one who made them. After carefully melting the metal fragments that had come from parts of his own armor and mask, the metal had become so delicate looking, yet it was strong. Clara remembered how Meta Knight had knelt down before her and proposed, even covered in blood from fighting Galacta Knight.

"Meta Knight…you d…don't understand!"

"Then how do you explain the wings?" He snapped back.

Clara took a step back, not expecting Meta Knight's reaction. The knight turned away, looking back towards the trees.

"I don't want to hear any more of this. I don't care anymore if you had an affair with Galacta Knight or not. I'll take you back to Dreamland and that will be it. For the rest of you, keep moving towards the tower. I will follow…at a distance…I want to be alone."

With that, Meta Knight took the ends of his cape and twisted it around him, spiraling until suddenly, he vanished, leaving the others to continue on. Kirby felt the sudden chill creep through his body again but he felt better, knowing that Meta Knight would still be there for him even if they weren't related. It felt good that Meta Knight had felt guilty enough to leave him thinking he was on his own and come back to the group, even facing his wife just to tell him what he did.

* * *

The Tower of Shadows was now closer and the group could make out its distinct features. It seemed to be a copy of the Mirror Tower, only it had arches that spiraled around it and seemed to have been made from dark material, rather than mirrors. Like in Meta Knight's empire, a wide city stretched out around it. The tall structures appeared to have at one point, been finished but now lay in ruins. Neon lights glowed from their signs and it almost seemed to be an abandoned city.

The wide tear in the sky glimmered like the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. The tower went straight up through it and out into the other side, wherever that may be. Like the sun shining down through a sudden gap in the clouds during an overcast, light streamed down from it. Clear white clouds could be seen on the other side as reminders of home.

Both Kirby and Clara had to stop from pain. Kirby managed to fit his wings under his cape, but it caused him great pain from touching the still weak figures. Clara was breathing heavily as she leaned against a large rock. The others could see it in her eyes—the baby was going to be born soon.

Not having the chance to lay down in sleep for such a long time, the group stayed in the small area shielded by the rocks. As much as they tried to, sleep was difficult. Not only were they all wary from fighting the monsters of the Mirror World, the exit back home was so close. After a long while, they all ended up just sitting back against the rocks, letting their bodies rest for a while as they allowed small conversations to flow.

Meta Knight came back, standing at the very tops of the rocks, gazing down at them. Clara looked at him, wanting badly for him to understand the truth but she did not say anything. Tokkori was nestled in a small cove in the rock side when Lololo and Lalala tapped him. Irritated, he tried to fly off to a different spot but they held him back.

"Tokkori! We need to talk to you!" Lalala said in a hushed voice.

"Why me?"

They did not say anything more, eying Meta Knight warily who was still looking down towards the others and dragged Tokkori behind the rocks. The bird smoothed his ruffled feathers before he turned to them.

"What do you want?"

Lololo and Lalala exchanged glances before they answered.

"It's about…_him_!" They murmured, pointing to Meta Knight.

Puzzled, Tokkori glanced at the knight but did not see anything unexpected.

"So? What about him?"

Lalala came up to Tokkori and quietly said,

"That isn't Meta Knight!"

Tokkori blinked and looked at the two of them as if they had suddenly gone insane.

"How is that _not _Sir Meta Knight?

"We demonbeasts sense one another's souls. The Prince's soul, in particular, stands out from the rest of ours since he's so closely related to Nightmare. But now, we can't feel his presence even though he's standing right there! All we sense right now is an empty husk! And do you know what that means?"

Tokkori instantly realized the answer but he was too shocked to speak.

"Whoever is standing there is an imposter!"

Tokkori glanced at 'Meta Knight' and now that the twins had mentioned it, there _was _something wrong about the atmosphere around him. Watching him closely, Tokkori could see that even though his eyes appeared to look at the entire group, he was eyeing Clara, who was completely oblivious that he was watching her that intently. He looked like a lion that was stalking a lamb. Whoever he was, this was definitely not Meta Knight. Whoever the real one was, he was probably still traveling by himself, not knowing that someone was taking his place and was posing a threat to the group. The others had to be warned.

Tokkori turned back to the Lola twins, now understanding their fears.

"Well what are we waiting for? We better stop him before he does something!"

"But how?" Lololo asked. "We can't just run over there and start shouting out that this is a faker! We have to prove it somehow without letting that counterfeit over there know what we're doing. Whoever is pretending to be the Prince won't let us get the chance!"

"That's why we alerted you, Tokkori," Lalala said. "We think you might be able to think something up to warn the others."

For a second, Tokkori felt a wave of panic spread over him and he was just about to tell them that he would never be able to do something like that when a sudden idea seemed to spring up from nowhere. It could work.

He nodded and flew back into the ring of rocks where the others still sat. Now, the fake Meta Knight had already come down from the rock tops and was facing away from Clara but he was alarmingly close. And since she was all by herself at the outer edge of the group, no one seemed to notice that he was edging closer to her.

Tokkori could not help but to think about how Clara seemed to be the target of everything and everyone, from enemies of the GSA, Meta Knight's rival Galacta Knight, and this faker. But it made sense. She was weak and vulnerable without Meta Knight to protect her. She could not fight back like the others were and she was not skilled in weaponry. It seemed strange how she was the daughter of Sir Arthur, one of the strongest leaders in history.

He flew out and landed directly on top of 'Meta Knight' and pecked at his head, stopping him in his tracks. The counterfeit looked up, snake-like eyes glimmering red for a brief moment.

"So, _Sir Meta Knight, _how are you planning to get us back to Dreamland? You said something about stairs leading up to the exit, right?"

Meta Knight made a move to swat the yellow bird away but Tokkori flew back on to his head, not ready to give up.

"Of course…" The faker said slowly as if unsure of how he should answer.

Tokkori made a big show of looking up towards the tower and squinting. By now, the others were watching the two quietly.

"I don't see any stairs."

"They're on the inside."

Tokkori smirked from the corner of his beak.

_I've got you now, faker!_

"But how do you know that when you said it yourself that you've never been to the Dark Half, let alone see the interior of the tower?"

The others stood up, now realizing that something was wrong about whom they had thought was Meta Knight. Lololo and Lalala both floated down in front of the faker, pointing at him accusingly.

"Where's the Prince?" Lololo asked, eyes glaring at the counterfeit.

The fake Meta Knight took a step back, closer to Clara.

"What do you mean? _I'm _the Prince."

"The _real _Prince hates being called 'Prince'. He never would call himself that, faker!"

Just then, the group turned around as they heard someone gasp. The real Meta Knight, who had finally decided to check on the group, stepped out into the rock fields. He stopped as soon as he saw the figure standing next to his wife. Their eyes met before suddenly, the fake Meta Knight grabbed Clara. He flew up on to the rocks as his body began to change in color. The rich, dark blue slowly melted into dark gray and his metal shoes became blood red. A long, deep scar appeared on his mask and his cape became torn and moth-eaten, along with his gloves. It did not take long for the others to realize his true identity.

Dark Meta Knight.

* * *

**A/N: **Yep. Dark Meta Knight is the villain in this story. I don't think it was that hard to guess, especially for those who have played the Amazing Mirror or at least heard of him to know that he would turn up sooner or later in this story. Tokkori and the Lola twins got their small time to shine in this chapter. They managed to prove Dark Meta Knight as a faker, even though it was a little too late.

From Angels of Prophecy, Dark Meta Knight _was not _defeated. He simply vanished and the group had just assumed he was gone for good. The next chapter will explain a little more of that.

Kirby has wings now and they are feathery. Who is Kirby's real father? Meta Knight or Galacta Knight? If Meta Knight is his father, how did he get the feathery wings unlike Meta Knight? If Galacta Knight is his father, than did Clara lie? I think Kamira will provide the answer in the next chapter…

Poor Wolfwrath! She had to die too! ;-(

Please review and vote!


	10. Chapter X: The Dark One

**A/N: Excuse me for not being able to publish this chapter for a long time. I didn't get much time to work on it or precheck it so there might be a lot of mistakes. Please point them out if you see any**

What will Meta Knight's reaction be now that his darker side has just abducted his wife?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anyone except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 10: The Dark One--**

The others gasped as Dark Meta Knight revealed himself. The last time they had seen Meta Knight's darker self, Nightmare had called upon the counterpart to fight the real one while Kirby fought his shadowy self as well. However, Kirby's darker self was extremely weak from the pink Star Warrior's lack of any actual hate for anything or anyone and the two joined together, completing Kirby as a whole, making him stronger. Meta Knight was unable to fight himself as his darker self was stronger than he was. From living in hate and fear, Dark Meta Knight was powerful than most people's darker selves.

After Nightmare had been defeated by Kirby once again, Dark Meta Knight had simply disappeared and everyone had assumed the battle was over.

Clara struggled in the shadowy Meta Knight's grasp, screaming and crying out. He flew into the air, neatly landing on top of a large rock as the real Meta Knight ran towards the others.

"Who are you?" He demanded, drawing his sword out.

Dark Meta Knight laughed, pulling Clara closer to him. His laughs sounded just like Meta Knight's. They held the same deepness and they were short and controlled.

"Someone who understands you better than yourself." He replied smoothly. "We didn't have much time to meet each other the last time we met, but I have always been with you, even if you've never realized that."

"Answer the question."

"I'm you. Or should I say a _part _of you."

Meta Knight did not shift his gaze from his darker self as he continued.

"I am your emotions; your hate, your anger, your sadness and grief. I am you pain and suffering, your fear and shame as well as your loneliness, jealousy and arrogance. I am also you deep desire for power and revenge. You see, I am more of _the _Meta Knight than you are yourself! _You _are the faker! You try to cover up your true self, deceiving your own family, friends, and comrades."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you not noticed that I am darker in color than you are? Most people's true selves are barely visible, but you experienced so many of the negative emotions in your life, rarely ever truly happy or relaxed. Your emotions are what created me, just like any other, only your negative emotions made me powerful. Nightmare created you that way, to have strong emotions than most. It made you his prized demonbeast as well as the most sensitive and weak. "

Meta Knight unfolded his wings and leapt into the air when suddenly, much to the shock of the others, only kept him in the air for a brief moment before he crashed into the ground. They no longer seemed to have the strength they used to hold. Meta Knight tried again and again, each time failing, much to the amusement of Dark Meta Knight.

"You can't even fly without me. When we were still a whole, you were more powerful than anything. All of your powers, including the ability to fly heavily depend on me. Now that I have left you, you might as well chop off your wings since they're now useless."

Meta Knight snapped his fingers together, trying to feel the energy from his power over fire. All he got were a few sparks.

"How do you know all this?" He asked, glaring back up to his dark side.

"Because I am the one who felt your suffering, your sadness, and your fear. I understand your hate and want for someone to love you. I could have helped you, Meta Knight, but you pushed me away, trying to think that it wasn't _you _who had a powerful hate for the world. You didn't want to believe that you could possibly have those feelings, to want to hurt others because they had more than you," Dark Meta Knight said, showing a small sign of anger towards the end. "You remember Galacta Knight? Do you know _why _he was so powerful?"

Meta Knight did not reply but his eyes flashed red at the name of the White Angel.

"He understood his true self, his dark side, and accepted it as a part of him. They became of whole and were more powerful than you were because you only had a fraction of yourself. I came to you when you fought him and lent my strength to you and because of my generosity, you came out victoriously."

Meta Knight looked at his hands and wings in shock before he stood up again. Dark Meta Knight was about to say something more when Clara broke free from his grip for a moment, sobbing and screaming at the same time.

"META KNIGHT!"

Her cries were cut short as Dark Meta Knight covered her mouth and yanked her back towards him, wrapping his wings around her to keep her from escaping.

"Enough of idle chat. I'll be leaving now…with _her,_" He said, looking at Clara.

"Fine," Meta Knight said without the slightest concern.

Everyone turned to him in shock. Clara's muffled cries were abruptly stopped as her eyes looked at him, shocked as well. Meta Knight turned away, not meeting her gaze.

"Oh. So you don't care about her anymore?" Dark Meta Knight asked casually.

"I did…when my heart still beated." Meta Knight said quietly.

"Suit yourself. I'll trade you this for her," Dark Meta Knight said, pulling out a silver key and dropping it on to the ground in front of Meta Knight. "You can have all of the lost souls that I have collected over the centuries. They're all in the silver chest in the rock quarry."

Just as Dark Meta Knight was about to fly into the air, Blade suddenly stepped forward. He suddenly realized thatthe one standing above him was the one behind all of the shadow monster—including the monsters that had brought Sword's death.

"Y…you're the one who had Sword killed!"

Dark Meta Knight looked at him in slight puzzlement.

"Was that the dark green armored one?" He asked, gloves tightening into fists. "She killed _my _creations. They were the equivalent as my children! I would have never forgiven her for what she did, so I called upon a few memories to assist me and make her pay."

Blade gasped as he stepped back, before all of a sudden, he grabbed his sword and charged. Dark Meta Knight vanished almost the same second the blade of the sword was about to strike him. He reappeared on another rock, Clara still struggling in his grasp.

"I don't have time to play around. Anyway, it won't be long before the rest of you die."

He took the ends of his cape, just like the way Meta Knight would when about to use Dimensional Cape and spun it around both him and Clara. She screamed out one last muffled cry before they vanished, leaving no trace of them anywhere.

Kirby looked at his father, almost angry enough to shout at him. However, he kept his voice leveled as much as possible.

"Why in the world did you just let him have Mom?!"

"Your right, Clara would have probably preferred Galacta Knight." He replied, saying the White Angel's name with hate and dislike.

Kirby could not find words to say. His father…he did not know the truth. Just as he was about to say anything more, they heard a familiar voice call out.

"There you are! I was starting to get worried! What did I miss?"

The group looked up to see the faint figure of Kamira, followed closely by another spirit: Sir Arthur. They glanced around at the group before Kamira, wide eyed, clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Did Clara and Wolfwrath…"

Escargon explained of what had happened when the sword lady's spirit had left the group to complete a mission of her own. Kamira looked at Kirby's angel wings in surprise but did not say anything until she had heard everything.

"I think I now know why I had to go back to the Mirror Tower to fetch Sir Arthur…"

The group looked at her and Sir Arthur, confused.

"Remember what the phoenix spirit had said? _'Bring the father to his daughter and follow fate'. _At first, I thought about Meta, but he didn't have any daughters so then I thought about Sir Arthur. I realized that the spirit had said to bring Sir Arthur back for something that would stop us from continuing and it was directed towards me to do."

She floated down to the ground along with Sir Arthur, who now in his younger form, looked even younger than Kirby did. He smiled sadly as he looked at both Kirby and Meta Knight.

"I regret so much from when I was still alive, I didn't realize how much Galacta Knight had been hurting Clara. I thought…he was the perfect husband for her…but one thing you should know is that you, Meta Knight, are Kirby's true father. I never said anything about this, but Clara and Galacta Knight are from the same blood line. If you go far enough back into my late wife's family tree, Galacta Knight is not that distant from my daughter."

"I'm…Kirby's father? But how did he get feathery wi-"

"I was just getting to that. On Clara's mother's side of the family, all of the males grew white and feathery wings. Her ancestors were said to be from an old race that lived among the clouds. While she herself did not grow wings, she carried that trait, giving it to Kirby, thus is why he has feathery wings. However, the_ way_ he grew them, is not a trait from her, it is a demonbeast trait for it to suddenly start to grow like that. Had Galacta Knight been his father, he would have had them from birth."

Meta Knight sank to the ground, partly from relief that he really was Kirby's father, but also in realization of the terrible mistake he had made, thinking Clara did not love him back. His gloves dug into the ground as his body shook.

Kirby could hear him murmur to himself.

"Clara…"

"Dad, there's still time. We can get Mom back if we keep going."

"The last time…my darker self would have defeated me if he hadn't vanished before the fight was over…he's too powerful…_I'm _too powerful for myself! I've lived so long in hate and fear…it all built up over my life…I can't fight myself…"

"So you're not going to even fight for Mom? Don't you feel guilty enough as of now that she still thinks you don't know the truth? Are you going to leave her that way?"

Kamira floated down towards Meta Knight and placed a transparent hand on his shoulders.

"Also another thing I just thought of, Clara has the hourglass. You do realize what's going to happen if your darker self finds it, he's going to smash it open and everyone will suddenly disappear from the Mirror World and fall into the void. For the sake of our friends, we better hope and pray that Clara's keeping it safe from him."

Meta Knight did not say anything but continued gazing at the Tower of Shadows. Slowly, he stood upright and turned towards the others. He did not say anything but he seemed to show it in his eyes that he wanted for them to give their support when he faced Dark Meta Knight. Kirby remembered his father's cape and handed it to him.

"You…left this…it's kind of bloody though…"

"Forget it. Capes are replaceable, but wives trapped by your darker self are not."

Meta Knight picked up the silver key that Dark Meta Knight had traded for Clara. He held it tightly in his hands.

"Clara…forgive me for my misunderstanding…I'm coming for you…"

* * *

Tears continued rolling down Clara's face as she looked at herself in a shattered mirror. She had been forced into a white dress and the second she looked at its reflection from the mirror, she knew exactly what it was.

Her wedding dress.

Every last detail of it, from its fine silk to its intricate stitching, it was familiar, however, now it was torn and resembled the state of Dark Meta Knight's cape. The once bright rose on the veil was now withered and gray. And like the last time she had worn it, her heart had been shattered. This dress did not bring back happy memories.

One of the rose's petals suddenly broke apart and it fell to the floor. Clara carefully picked it up and she held it in her hands. She remembered Meta Knight's first flowers to her: sunflowers. Rather than what most men gave their loves, he had chosen sunflowers.

"_Roses are for mourning the dead…These…these remind me of you…happy and cheerful…"_

Clara smiled sadly at the memory. How red Meta Knight's face had turned! Without knowing it, he had actually selected Clara's favorite type of flower.

Dark Meta Knight's figure suddenly appeared in the refection of the shattered mirror fragments and Clara nearly flinched as she was pulled back to the present. He silently strode forward, his metal shoes not making one sound against the hard stone floors. She backed away until she felt the cold glass of the mirror touch her body. His snake-like eyes looked her over as he admired her beauty. Reaching forward, he pulled Clara closer to him. A muffled cry escaped from her taped mouth.

"Why do you reject your true husband? Is it because of the way I look compared to your dear Meta Knight? He's the fraud, a disguise to deceive the world around him. When you married him, you married _me_. Now that we are reunited, no one, not even that faker will ever separate us again."

With a swift wave of his hand, the walls of the room were replaced by the crumbling stone arches of the Tower of Shadows. Unlike the Mirror Tower where the main rooms appeared to go off into eternity, this tower's walls looked as if they were barely capable to standing straight. The arches had a small glow from the hazy skies above and the large tear connecting the Mirror World to the Dimensional World shone brightly down into the tower. Glimmering stairs made of mirrors coiled around the inside of the tower, reaching all the way to its very top and beyond.

Dark Meta Knight grabbed Clara and lifted her up. She kicked and struggled in his strong grasp as he carried her to the center of the tower's base where a large stone coffin was propped up on a slab of rock. As he came closer, its lid slid open, revealing its dark red padded interior. Clara was pushed inside before Dark Meta Knight lay down beside her. The coffin's heavy lid closed shut and darkness engulfed them. For a long time, Clara could not see anything until very faintly at first; she could see the small glow that was emitted from the stone of the coffin. Finally, she could make out the figure of herself and Dark Meta Knight from the blackness. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, the way one appeared in an open casket at a funeral.

She huddled as far as she could away from him, pressing herself into the stone. She felt her breaths come in short muffled gasps as her eyes looked wildly around her for some escape route. Even as she managed to rip the tape off her mouth, Dark Meta Knight did not stir from his almost motionless position.

"Someone help me!" She sobbed, choking on her tears.

She continued to shout for help until her voice became so hoarse that it was barely audible. As she regained her breath, Dark Meta Knight opened one eye and looked at her.

"Silence. Go to sleep."

She pounded on the stone, tears flowing in a steady stream from her eyes. Her weak arms could barely make the heavy rock move at all and she finally collapsed, sobbing. Her head began to feel dizzy from the lack of any fresh air flow inside of the tomb. Trying to keep her mind clear enough to help her make some kind of plan for escape, she buried her face in her arms.

"Meta Knight!"

She felt Dark Meta Knight's glove gently stroke her cheeks and she looked up to his gold eyes. She recoiled away from his touch.

"Get away from me!"

"You're asking for your own husband to leave? Why in the world did you agree to my proposal?"

"You're not my husband! Meta Knight is!"

Dark Meta Knight let out a low chuckle.

"What do you mean? I _am _your husband and I _am _Meta Knight."

He pulled Clara closer to him and held her hands in his gloves. Clara was exhausted from screaming for help and struggling to lift the lid off of the coffin to fight against his grasp. His hand twirled lightly through her pale hair as he spoke.

"You still are being tricked by my counterpart's disguise. I don't blame you; you've never seen your dear Meta Knight's violent thoughts or true emotions."

"Y…you're wrong!" Clara stammered.

"_I've _shared the same emotions since the day the two of us were created. I'm the only one who knows him, probably even better than he does. I've felt his sadness and fear, I've shared that same burning hate as he; I've also had the same deep desire for the world around me to suffer the same pain I had shared along with Meta Knight. We are two halves, Clara, I easily make up more of the Meta Knight than he does. You don't know what it's like to live someone else's life rather than your own."

Clara looked at him with almost a slight tinge of pity. She could feel the anger and sadness in his voice. He suddenly sat up and moved his body directly above her, pressing her hands to the stone.

"You reject me, but I love you Clara. You wouldn't be able to imagine it, but Meta Knight had an intense desire for your love. He wanted it above all else in his life, even above his own soul. Instead of showing his true side, he was all gentleman-like and proposed to you, rather than take you with force."

"But…h…how did you get separated in the first place?" Clara gasped.

Clara watched as his eyes twitched a little but continued to look into her eyes.

"For a very, very long time, I supported Meta Knight through his emotions, slowly healing him by experiencing his pain and sorrow with him. Meta Knight's emotions are stronger than anyone else's; Nightmare created us this way. Feelings like anger and fear come to him much more easily than what a normal person would and from living under such abusive conditions at Nightmare Enterprises, I would have thought I would have been greatly appreciated for helping him when he had no one. However, that all changed after the news that you had been killed from the war reach us. He didn't know what to do with Kirby. He had felt extreme hate and anger and wanted to avenge your death. It had almost cost our son's life when his emotions became stronger than he could control. After that, he began to fear himself, fearing that he would hurt Kirby. You know what he did?"

Clara did not say anything and Dark Meta Knight continued.

"He rejected me. He tried to push me away, telling himself that it could not possible be _himself _that had that powerful hate. The more he blocked me away from him, the more the link between us began to wither away. I felt lost and unwanted. The one thing you must realize is that the dark side of people isn't _bad. _As long as the body accepts the soul for who he is, the two halves can be a part of one. When this is achieved, the body becomes more powerful as a whole. So when I was pushed away, I slowly disappeared, only deciding to return to help Meta Knight fight his mortal enemy: Galacta Knight. After that, I came to the Mirror World to build my empire along with my dear creations. Each one of those monsters that your friends selfishly murdered was created by using the lost spirit of one of the fallen in the void between worlds. I became less lonely with them around and it helped heal my own scars."

This _was _Meta Knight, her Meta Knight. It was a part of the knight that Clara had never seen before and all of his hidden emotions could be easily felt by his darker side.

"M…Meta Knight…"

She reached up and unstrapped the mask from his face. Letting it drop to the coffin's base, her eyes softened as she looked upon the same familiar face. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and brought her lips to his face.

"I…I didn't know…" Clara said slowly.

Suddenly, Dark Meta Knight drew back, lying down back in his original spot. His eyes seemed to change but they remained gold.

"He..he's coming."

"W..who?"

"Meta Knight. He's going to come and take you away from me again…"

Clara curled close to him, eyes looking at him in concern as his gloves curled into a fist.

"I…I won't let him take away what little I have…I'll erase him from existence before he even reaches the tower."

"No! There must be some other way to resolve this!"

Dark Meta Knight ignored her as he continued to stare at the stone.

"I have called upon my most fearsome creation to kill any dark blue figure with gold eyes it sees. It's already been decided, blood will flow in a steady stream and soak into my lands."

* * *

Once again, the group nearly had to run to keep pace with Meta Knight. Kamira had actually brought more than just Sir Arthur back from the Mirror Tower with her; Jecra, Garlude, and SailorDee floated close by in the air behind the group. The others, besides Meta Knight, had never seen or met Jecra or Garlude and they finally had the chance to see the father of Knuckle Joe and mother of Sirica.

The group almost had to beg Meta Knight to slow down so they could catch their breath. They came across a few more shadow monsters along the way and they were taken care of immediately. The lost spirits from inside vanished into their weapons but unlike the other ones the group had came across, they did not say anything or offer any advice in some riddle-like manner. They came to a rock quarry where the Black Angel finally stopped. His eyes kept shifting back to the Tower of Shadows but he did not say anything.

"How much sand is left in that hourglass? Can't be much left!" Dedede said, glancing at the shimmering tear in the sky.

"Maybe about an hour or two left," Escargon said wearily. "If we don't reach the tower soon, we're all going to die!"

The ground under them liquefied, forcing the group to move out of the way as the large glob broke away from the black lands and disappear into the sky.

"There's no way we're going to make it to the tower, climb the stairs, fight Dark Meta Knight, rescue Clara, _and _still survive to make it back to the Dimensional World!" Sirica exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air.

Meta Knight turned from the tower and over to the girl, eyes curved downwards as he kept his eyes to the ground.

"I…I can't transform…nor fly…If I was able to, I would have been able to fly us all out of here and save Clara…but now, I can't even feel my wings!"

"But what if I could fly us out of here?" Kirby said, stepping forward. "I have wings too."

Meta Knight looked up at his son but shook his head slowly.

"They're too weak as of now. Even if you could, how would you get everyone to the exit? It's too high above the ground and there's too many of us to transport efficiently. Besides, I have a feeling that my darker self will not allow us to take a short cut. We will have to reach the tower and you all will have to make your way up those stairs."

He slowly sank to the ground, leaning his mask on a large rock that jutted out from the ground. Jecra floated over and waved his hand as if to slap the knight on the back in a good-naturedly way.

"You worry too much, Meta. I remember the spasm you had when you didn't know what kind of flower to give to Clara. Kind of reminded me of Garlude…anyway, just let the future play itself out and see what happens. I'm sure we'll find some way to get everyone back home safely."

"Excuse me?" Garlude questioned as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned towards Jecra, making him back away a little. "Usually _you _are the one getting worked up about something! Especially after Joe and Sirica were born."

"Wait, Sirica's my sister?" Knuckle Joe asked, eyes widening as he glanced at the girl who returned a equally shocked glance.

"Yes, Joe. You and Sirica were born on the same day, just a few minutes apart." Jecra said, placing a transparent hand on his son's shoulder.

Knuckle Joe and Sirica turned to each other and for the first time recognized the other as their sibling. Jecra and Garlude had to laugh a little at the sight. Just as they were about to say something more, Meta Knight stood up, eyes looking at the group gravely.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this family moment, but if we do not keep moving, the hourglass will run out and all of you will fall to the void." He said with slight impatience.

The others still felt tired, but each of them knew the consequence of letting the hourglass run out before they were back into the Dimensional World. They nodded and picked up their bags. No sooner had they begun walking through the rock quarry, they heard muffled sobs. Running forward, Meta Knight looked wildly around, hoping to find Clara. The others had to chase him through the maze of black rocks in his frantic search when they suddenly drew to a halt. The sobs were slightly more audible, but they were not that of Clara's. It sounded like a child's.

They came around a bend and stopped. Directly in front of them was a small dark blue ball huddled within the shadow of a large stone slab. His arms were strapped down across his chest over a dark gray like jacket. A bronze metal guard had been fitted tightly over his face and much of his body. Through the small holes that had been punched into the metal sheets, the others could hear his desperate sobs abruptly stop.

A short gasp escaped from Meta Knight as his eyes flashed orange.

"It…it can't be!"

The others watched as he slowly walked forward towards the figure, stopping about a foot away from him. The boy pressed himself further and further away from the knight as he felt the vibrations of his footsteps.

"It…it's okay…" Meta Knight coaxed as he reached his shaking hand towards the boy.

Almost as if sensing his move, the boy cried out.

"Leave me alone!"

Meta Knight carefully ran his hand down the child's side, trying to calm the boy down. He drew his sword out and sliced through the straps. Almost the exact moment he was free, the rocks around the group shattered into thousands of pieces as the boy stood up. He blindly backed away, stumbling over the unlevel ground. He fell backwards and curled as tight as he could as a pitiful last defense against anyone who could possibly try to hurt him.

The group could feel their minds being prodded at, to see whether they were dangerous or not. Slowly, the almost familiar presence drew away as the boy sat up. He reached out with his white glove, blindly searching for Meta Knight. The knight held his hand out and let the boy feel around his arm. Suddenly, he pulled on him and then pointed at the metal guard that covered his face. Meta Knight turned the boy on to his chest to reveal the large key pad on the back of the metal guard. Nightmare's symbol was imaged on its small screen as it called for a password.

"P…R…O…J…E…C…T…M…E…T…A…K…0…2" Meta Knight said aloud without knowing it while he punched in the password he knew by heart.

A small whirring sound emitted as the gears inside of the metal guard began turning and the metal slid apart. The boy lifted his face out from the metal guard, letting it fall with a loud clatter to the ground. The others gasped as the all too familiar gold eyes opened to look at them.

"D…Dad?" Kirby stammered.

The figure was Meta Knight—a younger version of the knight.

The younger Meta Knight's face looked as if someone had punched him as hard as they could straight into his right eye. A black ring was left around it as a reminder of the vicious attack. A stream of blood flowed down from the corner of his mouth where a thin metal bar had been wedged, cutting into his flesh. Meta Knight carefully removed it and his younger self's sad gold eyes looked at him for a brief moment in bewilderment before he stepped back, frowning.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Meta Knight was silent, almost as if he did not know how to answer the small blue puffball. The younger ball stepped forward, holding a sharp rock like a knife.

"Speak! Else I'll slit your throat open and let your blood stain the ground!"

"I am someone close…much closer than you may realize." Meta Knight replied.

While the young blue puffball, had extreme bloody threats, the others could see the fear in his eyes. He leapt out, stabbing the rock into the air in a desperate attempt to scare away the strangers. Meta Knight easily side stepped, catching the blue ball by the base of his wings and lifting him into the air. Surprised, the boy looked at him before he stabbed the rock as hard as he could into Meta Knight's arm. The knight winced as the rock dug in deeper and a dark red pool formed at his feet but he held the boy firmly.

"Let go of me! I'm the high Prince of Demonbeasts! My father will have your eyes ripped out and your back whipped until your blood splatters!"

"You seriously think Nightmare would listen to a little arrogant brat like you?"

Stunned, the boy looked at Meta Knight. No one had ever called him a brat before until now. His eyes flashed red as he took a swipe at Meta Knight which missed.

"How dare you speak to me like this! I'm the heir to the throne and all of you will suffer! I'll have you all thrown into the dungeons and let you rot, until your insides have been eaten away and your bones are dried!"

"You were never an heir to anything. You know why Nightmare wanted you? He only wanted to make you into his puppet to help him expand his empire. Once you no longer proved useful to him, you would be disposed of without hesitation."

"T..that's not true!" The blue puffball stammered. "I…I will be ruler one day! Just you wait! I'll have the universe bow down to me with my every whim!"

"You have lived in that lie for too long." Meta Knight replied, looking directly at him.

"You're wrong! You're wrong!" The blue ball said as he covered his head, trying to block out anything his captor might say. "When I tell Nightmare, he will have you stretched out on a table and have your insides ripped out and your bloody remains staked out on the battlement walls!"

Unable to say anything more, Meta Knight turned just as Kamira floated down to the two, shaking her head with a slight smile.

"I remember how arrogant you were and the threats you used to say after I took you in after that one day on Icronth. You were just like this."

Meta Knight blinked.

"I…I acted like this?"

"Oh yeah you did!" Kamira laughed. "It was almost up to the point where I had enough! I remember when you threatened that my limbs would be dismembered one by one while by blood would be painted across the walls and my neck would be snapped and my body would bleed from the inside while blood leaked out of my eyes. I think that was the most amusing one."

Meta Knight looked back at his younger self, at a loss for words as Kamira continued.

"Also, you'd say that I was inferior to the likes of you and that I should have to bow down to the emperor's heir. Like I would give anything for the emperor! I ended up dumping a bucket of water on you and tossing you out into the cold garage until you started to show me a little respect and appreciation for what you were given."

Meta Knight turned back just as his younger self released a powerful electrical charge. He immediately was forced to let go and the small blue puffball took off, flying up on to a tall rock that looked over the entire group.

"You all deserve worse than death penalty! I'll remember this!"

Just as Meta Knight was going to run after him, he stopped. A shadowy figure suddenly emerged from the hazy skies and was flying down towards the rock quarry at an alarming rate. Like a giant pterodactyl, the monster had a wing span that stretched longer than a bus and its thick membranes blocked out the light from the small golden disk in the sky.

"Run!" Meta Knight shouted.

The small dark blue ball turned around just a moment too late. The monster knocked him over, sending him thudding to the ground. As it made a graceful U-Turn in the sky, the younger Meta Knight picked himself up. The monster faced the group again, suddenly realizing there were two dark blue balls. Its orders had been to specifically kill anything that color with gold eyes. However, Dark Meta Knight had never said anything about _two _puffballs. It decided to go for the smaller one, the one who seemed unprotected and weak.

Both Meta Knights ran just as the monster swooped down, grazing the air overhead. The small dark blue scampered away, clumsily tripping over black roots.

"Idiot! Don't run in a straight line where that thing can attack you!" Meta Knight shouted after him.

Through the younger Meta Knight's mind connection, he could feel the barrage of thoughts that wildly swam in his mind. He could not hear him.

The monster swung its head back and lunged downward with a burst of speed. The young dark blue ball ran to the side just as its mighty talons grazed the back of his arms. He cried out in pain as he collapsed, holding his arm to keep the blood from flowing out. Meta Knight ran to him and lifted the small blue ball into his arms. With one hand, he held on to his younger self protectively while he held his sword in the other.

He turned around to face the dark shadow swooping down towards them and held his sword in front of him. Just as he prepared to fight back, the monstrous bird-like creature landed, making the ground shake. Its head turned to them, red eyes flashing. It leaned its head back and opened its sharp beak. A long metal tube emerged and pointed towards the two. From the top of it, a small red laser locked on to its target. Meta Knight's eyes flashed orange as he realized what it was.

He ran just as the machine gun began firing. Bullets flew past, narrowly missing both him and his younger self. Meta Knight was about to take cover behind a study looking rock when the ground in front of him liquefied, forcing him back. The red dot locked in on his forehead as he turned to face the creature. It fired, the bullet coming straight towards him. Moving slightly to the side, the fatal attack was missed and instead, embedded itself into his shoulder plate, knocking him back off his footing. The small blue ball leapt up into the air, running for his life as the monster flew above. Its shadow engulfed the running figure as it landed directly in front of him. He stopped in his tracks and was about to turn around when the monster threw its head back and stabbed its beak towards him. It caught him by the wing and it lifted him off the ground.

He screamed out as his wings ripped from his weight pulling down on the thin membrane and as he pulled, he finally freed himself from its horrible beak. He tumbled to the ground and scurried away, diving into a small hole. The bird stepped forward and began drilling into the hole like a woodpecker. The rocks crumbled under the power of its beak as it searched for its prey. The younger Meta Knight pressed himself as far as he could into the hole, the beak snapping at the air less than an inch away from his face.

Suddenly, he was jerked out as the monster caught his wing. He struggled as it lifted him into the air, this time with a better grip on him. The monster raised its wings and flew into the air.

The group followed the older Meta Knight as he ran to the very edge of a deep ravine. Only blackness could be seen down into it. The monster was now gliding directly above it and there was no way the group could keep following it on foot. Kirby turned to his father.

"Dad! The Warpstar!"

Meta Knight nodded and immediately placed his hand on his chest. The others watched it awe as it began to glow with a golden light as the warp star appeared in his hands. The star that Kirby had thrown to his father when the Black Angel had fought Galacta Knight had remained in his body until now. Throwing it into the air, the Warpstar expanded and with a nod, both father and son jumped aboard. At almost the exact moment they were on, the star took off towards the creature with the struggling figure in its beak.

Raising Galaxia high into the air, Kirby swung down, sending a powerful sword beam at the monster. It turned around just as the light sliced through its left wing, the light eating its flesh. It thrashed about in the air as it began falling from the air. The Warpstar flew down alongside it as Meta Knight reached his hand out to his younger self.

"Take my hand!"

Reaching for it, the smaller dark blue ball struggled to get a hold as he pulled away from the monster's beak. Kirby looked up, suddenly realizing they were going to smash into the hard ravine walls if they kept going.

At the last moment, the blue ball broke free and leapt towards them. Meta Knight immediately held on to his younger self tightly as the Warpstar began to slow. The monster smashed into the wall, its talons digging into the rock. Its red eyes seemed to glow brighter red in anger and it suddenly threw its tail towards them. It struck out at the Warpstar, sending Kirby into the air. Meta Knight grabbed on to its neck as the younger Meta Knight was knocked away. The knight drew his sword and stabbed into the monster's eye. It slammed its head repeatedly into the ravine wall, nearly crushing Meta Knight in the process. It turned towards him, deciding that bringing one of the dark blue balls to its master would be better than bringing none and its beak closed around his body.

Kirby flew the Warpstar to catch the younger Meta Knight and he turned to see his father get taken away. The monster opened its great wings and took off towards the Tower of Shadows, flying slightly crooked from losing part of his wings. He heard his father shout something but it was lost as the monster became a distant figure in the sky.

"DAD!"

His shout echoed throughout the ravine only to hear no other reply. The Warpstar landed back on the ledge and the others helped him and the small dark blue ball up. The younger Meta Knight looked up towards the pink Star Warrior who he did not realize would one day be his son.

* * *

**A/N: **Hurr…I didn't know how the chapter should have ended because I wanted to keep adding more and more to the chapter. Now time for my usual, annoying author note.

How in the world is it possible for Meta Knight to meet his own younger self?! In the Dark Half, news that things not possible occurred there, so that's kind of my explanation…

Looks like the group will have to rescue Clara _and _Meta Knight! But there is one more member to the group now, Meta. In the next chapters, the younger Meta Knight will be referred to as just plain 'Meta' to prevent confusion.

Also, now we finally had the chance to really see Dark Meta Knight's point of view. He's not really 'evil' though, he's just angry at Meta Knight for pushing him away. Now Clara is stuck between the two both fighting for her when both of them are Meta Knight!

Sheesh! Too many Meta Knights now…

One other thing is that I would like to thank all those who voted in my poll! I have a little better idea what I should be focusing on now and hopefully, my writing will get a little better! ^_^

Please review!


	11. Chapter XI:The Labyrinth

**A/N: **Urg…I keep forgetting key points in my author notes…that's probably how these things get meaningless and make people skip through them…

Meta Knight has been captured and taken to the Tower of Shadows. What in the world does Dark Meta Knight have in store for him? And what about the others? Will they come to his rescue or a better question yet—will they be _able_ to save him?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

* * *

**--Chapter 11: The Labyrinth--**

Meta Knight's arms and wings were chained together as a spear of one of the shadowy monsters forced him to kneel down before the stone coffin on the center floor of the Tower of Shadows. The talons of the pterodactyl monster clacked against the cold, hard floor as it proudly stepped forward. The coffin opened and Meta Knight gasped as he saw Clara lying beside his darker self. She sat up, wanting desperately to try to explain her innocence again when Dark Meta Knight held up a hand, stopping her.

Slowly, he stepped out of the coffin and stood over Meta Knight, who shot a glare at him. It only seemed to amuse the Dark One.

"I don't recall I ever said to _bring _him here! I said to kill him, to rip his body apart and let him bleed to death! "He said quietly, turning to the pterodactyl who lowered its head in disappointment with its creator's dissatisfaction. "However…I think I have better plans in store…"

He turned back to Meta Knight who was glancing towards Clara. Dark Meta Knight stepped back and kicked him hard in the face, making Clara cry out.

"How does it feel to be the loser? To be all alone with no one for comfort?"

Not hearing a response, Dark Meta Knight kicked as hard as he could, sending Meta Knight sprawling to the floor.

"At first, I wanted to see you die for the suffering you placed upon me so selfishly. I wanted to hear you beg for mercy, begging for me to kill you quickly, but I think you deserve something much worse than that…"

"Meta Knight! Please!" Clara cried out as she ran towards Dark Meta Knight and tugged on his cape. "D…don't do this to…yourself!"

"You think I'm going to let _him _push me away again into the darkness and allow myself to experience the horrible pain and suffering again? You are quite mistaken, Clara. I'm going to live my _own _life, the way I choose to live without having to be controlled by another. I want to be free. From now on, I will be _the _Meta Knight!"

He drew his jagged sword and pointed it at Meta Knight's throat, forcing him to tilt his head back. A thin line of blood flowed out on to the blade.

"I want you to see what it's like to be me, to have to relive horrible memories day after day! Your memories don't even belong to me, yet I have to suffer from them. Guards! You know what to do."

The chains were yanked back and Meta Knight was forced into a standing position. He was led out of the main tower and through numerous passages until they came to a rusty door. Dark Meta Knight held Clara close to him as he placed his glove on the wide circle etched onto the metal. It lit up and the entire door slid open, revealing the next room.

They had taken him to a ruined factory-like room. Old conveyor belts, some still functioning while others were silent and dead lined the room's walls. A large machine at the very center seemed to be the power source for the entire room. Large gears and wires ran down its sides. Black smoke rose from the rusty pipes that rose up from the steel floors and escaped through small vents. Along a smooth chute, coal were being emptied into a large oven-like machine which burned wildly, a few ashes flew out from its mouth and on to the floor. Before Meta Knight could take in anything else, the chains were pulled harshly, silently threatening him to keep moving.

He was pushed on to a wide elevator lift and it took him, Clara, Dark Meta Knight, and the shadowy monsters upwards towards the ceiling. As they went upwards, Meta Knight could see that the large machine in the middle did not stretch all the way upwards as he had thought from down below. At the very center of the large circular platform, a metal table with straps stood, just under a red glass circle. The elevator lift came to a halt and the monsters pushed Meta Knight forward with their sharp spears across the small walkway and to the platform.

The red-eye like light hung directly above the table, giving the room its eerie glow. Meta Knight was lifted up and held down as he was strapped down. He struggled against his captors, kicking at them and trying to sit up, but suddenly, a large shadowy monster came and pressed him down into a strangling hold until his arms and wings had been strapped down tightly. Dark Meta Knight stood over him and without even having to see his face; Meta Knight could feel the wide smirk from under the Dark One's mask.

"Have anything else to say before we get started?"

Meta Knight did not say anything but his eyes turned to Clara who looked back at him sadly. Dark Meta Knight held his glove over Meta Knight's chest as he focused on his energy.

"Now the only thing I need is your beating heart…"

Suddenly, the entire room was filled with cries of pain as he forced the dark star that functioned as a heart out of Meta Knight's body. The star, named as Dark Nebula by Nightmare, had been created by the emperor as one of the final pieces to Project Meta-K02. The star acted as a heart to keep him alive, but also was used to restrain the Black Angel in case he turned against his master.

Clara watched in horror as Meta Knight struggled wildly against the straps, eyes wide as the star slowly appeared in Dark Meta Knight's hands. The screams worsened as the Dark One pulled his glove back away from him. Clara gasped as the star opened its single, purple eye.

"You see the monster that was living inside of us for so long? This is what Nightmare had created using every last bit of dark magic he could harness. This star, this thing of evil, was what had controlled us to forever be one from the darkness. No matter how hard we may have tried, we never would have been able to become one of the light. Nightmare had been extremely careful with the one demonbeast that would possess more power, intelligence, and energy than all of his other creations. Although Project Meta-K02 had been a failure, it had not been a complete waste," Dark Meta Knight said quietly, eyes reflecting the purplish glow from Dark Nebula.

"Stop it!" Clara sobbed out. "Let him go! You're only hurting yourself!"

"Hush, my dear. It will all be over soon."

Dark Nebula blinked as it finally fully emerged from Meta Knight's body. He fell back to the table, gasping out for air. He stared at the star, dripping with dark substances as Dark Meta Knight turned it over in his hands. He got down from the table and walked up the small set of stairs to the higher platform above the main one. Hanging over the red eye-like glass was a small, slender machine that went straight up to the ceiling. At the very end of it, three claw-like metal sheets extended out. Dark Meta Knight carefully placed the black star into its hold, making sure to fit it in correctly. He flicked a few switches on and the red glass glowed an even brighter crimson.

Walking back down, he took Clara into his arms and led her away. She sobbed out, crying desperately for Meta Knight, but her cries were muffled as Dark Meta Knight covered her mouth swiftly with his glove. He motioned for the shadowy monsters to follow him and they left Meta Knight on the metal table, staring into the deep red of the glass.

For several minutes, Meta Knight continued to stare up at the red light. Through the glass, the small black star, Dark Nebula blinked as it gazed down at him, making the knight shudder slightly. He wanted to close his eyes, but he found himself unable to look away from the light. He could not feel his body anymore as the wires circling the table pulsed along to the rhythm Dark Nebula was beating. All of his thoughts became clouded as the light seemed to mesmerize him. All he could see, feel, and think about was the redness.

Only the light…

Only the beating of Dark Nebula…

Suddenly, everything around him melted away. The metal machinery and rusty, worn down factory walls were replaced by hazy, red mists. He glanced at his body. He was no longer strapped to a metal table at the mercy of his darker self. As he looked around, confused, his eyes could not keep focus long enough to keep the world from spiraling around him. Just as he was about to bring a hand to his forehead, he looked up to see a sword in his hand, glimmering in a deep red. A smile spread across his face. He loved the sight and smell of bloodshed, especially fresh ones. He had forgotten that wonderful feeling of power. However, that feeling soon disappeared as he looked down and gasped.

Clara's bloody body laid before him and her sobs were desperate. She looked as if someone had stabbed her repeatedly and she raised a weak and shaky hand towards him.

"Meta Knight! Why? Why…why did you…k…kill me?"

Meta Knight watched in horror as he raised the sword above her and stabbed down, over and over again. He cried out for her but all that came out from his mouth was mad laughter.

"Meta Knight!" She screamed as blood pooled around her.

Before he could reach out for her, she melted away and Meta Knight found himself in a dark room where only a small lantern was the only source of light. A dark figure appeared but remained in the shadows. Though he could not recognize the figure, the dark slit-like pupils seemed familiar.

"You be a dizzappointment to your peoplez."

Meta Knight gasped as the figure of Scipio advanced towards him. His body seemed to shrink slightly and his mask and armor disappeared. He was now in the body of his younger self. He cowered into the corner of the room as the lizard stopped about a yard away.

"Nightmare haz enough. You will follow his order without questionz. You had some gutz to try to run, destroying several warshipz in the procezz, but fer dat, you will be punished severely."

Meta Knight instantly remembered this as the time after his first attempt to free himself from Nightmare's rule. He remembered it, and as Scipio raised his whip, he cried out. He felt the whip slice through his body as it cracked down upon his back. He raised his hands to stop it, but the whip only snapped against his gloves, making him draw them back, hands bleeding. He covered his head with his hands and wings as the whip came down again. This time, his wings took the blow. He screamed out as the thin membrane was sliced through. He could remember every scar on his wings and back, had all been the work of Scipio. The lizard had been in charge of watching over Nightmare's finest creation, which also meant he could punish him as the lizard saw fit. Meta Knight had forgotten how painful it had been to be whipped mercilessly.

Just as Scipio was about to raise it again, he dissolved away along with the walls of the room. Looking at himself, his mask and armor were back and all of the places where Scipio had cracked the whip down on him appeared as if he had never been whipped, but he could still feel the painful sting.

Meta Knight backed away, afraid to face whatever was to come next. He closed his eyes and tried to breathe in and out to calm himself.

_It's just a dream. It's just a dream…_

"Daddy..."

Meta Knight opened his eyes to find Kirby standing in the doorway of the room they were suddenly in. The knight looked around. He was in bed and by the looks of it, he had been sleeping until Kirby appeared. He turned to the bedside where a lamp was and soon, the room was filled with light. Meta Knight could feel the tiredness from suddenly being awakened, but he could not recall ever falling asleep. He recognized the room as his bedroom where he and Clara had shared it for a long time before she had left for the war.

"What is it Kirby?"

Kirby walked forward and clambered up on to the bed. His eyes were wet as he curled up against his father's side. Meta Knight placed his arm around him. He remembered when Kirby would have nightmares and would come to his parent's room. Meta Knight slowly rocked him in his arms.

"It's all right Kirby…Daddy's here…"

How strange those words felt. He had not been called 'Daddy' for a long time. He held Kirby close to him, closing his eyes. Everything was so confusing. The world around him kept changing to something horrible.

_That's strange…we both had nightmares…did everything after this...ever happen? Had I dreamt it all? Going to Dreamland? Meeting the others? Fumu? Bun? Dedede? Were they all just a dream? _

Suddenly, he heard someone laugh. He looked up to see Dark Meta Knight leaning against a wall casually.

"You're afraid to lose what you hold dear…your son. Would be a tragedy if something horrible happened to him, huh?"

Meta Knight sat up, glaring at the Dark One.

"Don't you dare hurt him!"

Dark Meta Knight laughed again as he stood up straight. Meta Knight cried out as Kirby was suddenly wrenched away from him and the room disappeared into the hazy mists. He landed heavily on the dark ground and as he looked up, he found himself imprisoned behind a tall wall of iron bars. Dark Meta Knight held Kirby in his grasp on the other side and he looked at the sleeping pink puffball.

"I remember the happiness we both felt when you heard Kirby call us 'Daddy' for the first time. That was his first word, wasn't it?"

"Get away from my son!" Meta Knight shouted as he shook the iron bars in desperation.

"You still don't seem to realize it. We're _both _Kirby's father. I wouldn't dream of hurting my own son, maybe you would."

Kirby slowly opened his eyes, murmuring something to Dark Meta Knight before closing his eyes again.

"That's right, Kirby. Daddy loves you." Dark Meta Knight said softly.

"You know what I want to see more than anything right now?" He asked, and without waiting for an answer, began again. "I want to see if you friends have the courage to enter your mind and rescue you from the darkness you put yourself in, to see if they will rescue you from your nightmares. I want to see if they ever find you in the labyrinth of your mind and ever live to come back!"

He and Kirby vanished, leaving Meta Knight calling after his son in desperation. Suddenly, a large shadow formed around him. He looked up and stood back as the creature behind him appeared from the mists. He screamed as the blackness consumed him and everything around him.

* * *

The younger Meta Knight, who the group decided to call him 'Meta', slowly followed the group at a distance, not wanting to get to close to these new strangers, yet did not want to be alone where the monster could possibly come back and attack him again. He avoided the eyes of the others as they looked at him with concern, but did not come forth towards him. Sighing, Kirby stopped to wait for the dark blue ball. He still could not fully believe that he was looking at what his father had been like.

Someday, this arrogant little brat would be his father.

Kirby and the others agreed that it would be better to not let Meta know that only a few minutes ago, he had been rescued by his own future self. Possibly if he knew that, it might have destroyed him, for no one was supposed to see their past or future self in fear of disrupting the path the future had made, which Kamira, Sir Arthur, SailorDee, Jecra, and Garlude firmly agreed with.

Meta looked up and for a moment, his face held a look of surprise before he frowned.

"What do you want?" He asked coldly.

"Nothing," Kirby said. "I thought you would like some company."

"Leave me alone."

Kirby held out his hand but it was shoved roughly away by the dark blue ball.

"Why are you suddenly acting all friendly? Is it so you can prove yourself higher than me?" Meta snapped.

His reaction stunned Kirby, making him bite his lip.

"I only wanted to be friends…"

"There's no such thing as friends. Nightmare said friendships only weaken people, that they give a false sense of alliance with another. Everyone you trust dies or turns against you."

"Maybe in the world you grew up in, but not in mine."

"I don't need any of your pity."

Before Kirby could say anything more, Meta pushed past him and kept walking. Though he seemed extremely hateful of the group, Kirby could sense the deep sadness and loneliness of the dark blue ball and the desire to be loved and cared for. He turned to Kamira, thinking about how she had been the one to put up with Meta all through most of his childhood years.

"Can you please do something rather than just watch me deal with him?"

"You were doing pretty well, I have to say."

"What did _you _do about him?"

Kamira floated down to him, laughing a little.

"I slapped him across the face every time he made some rude comment and after a few days, he understood. All that I will say is show him some kindness, just like how you were. It took him a long time to understand the concept of 'friends' and 'love'. Can't really blame him though, anyone living under Nightmare certainly won't have a happy life. Just be patient with him, Kirby. Though you may not realize it now, Mety really is a little sweetheart when he's happy."

"Yeah right. _Sweetheart._ I highly doubt I will ever think him as that._"_

"You may be surprised. I haven't told any of you this, but I remember back to this one time when I had been fixing the engine of heavy starship brought to my garage by some other villager on Icronth. I was the only mechanic then and I was extremely busy some days. The engine had been under the starship and I had it placed onto supports so I could get under it. However, when I was working, one of the supports began slipping away and at the last second, I realized that. I would have been crushed to death if Mety hadn't been there. He had been watching and I didn't realize the unnatural strength he had. He lifted that entire starship over his head just as the support gave away. He saved my life there."

Kirby's eyes widened at her story.

"Wow…" He said, unable to find anything better to say.

"It's kind of funny, but he had shouted at me, saying how much he hated me and wished for me to die…but when he had the chance to see me die, he stopped it. Even though he may really get on your nerves, he's extremely desperate for attention and a little love."

Kirby nodded and turned back to Meta. Hesitantly, he walked forward. Meta looked at him and frowned.

"Leave me alone." He hissed.

Kirby hefted him up on to his back, against the struggling figure. For a moment, Meta looked as if he was going to shout out something, but he closed his mouth and held on. The others watched as the two moved past them in slight amusement. Kirby bit down on his lip again, but right now, building the trust of Meta's was the most important thing.

They continued walking past the large rocks, until suddenly, Tokkori, Lololo and Lalala appeared. No one had noticed when the three had left to explore the rock quarry for the easiest and quickest path for their friends to take to get out of the rocky lands.

"We found a way out of here!" Lalala said.

"If you take a left at that one clearing over there, go straight and then a right, you will be out of this quarry," Her twin continued.

"And also, we found that silver chest with all of the spirits inside," Tokkori chirped. "It's along the way."

The group followed three past the rocks until they came to the said clearing. A silver box shone from where it was wedged in between two particularly large rocks. Setting Meta back on the ground, Kirby pulled it out and placed it on a flat rock in front of the others. He pulled out the silver key which he had retrieved from where Meta Knight had dropped it. The box was a lot smaller than he had imagined. It was about the size of a small jewelry box, yet inside, it held thousands of spirits.

"Should I open it?"

Kamira, Sir Arthur, SailorDee, Jecra, and Garlude immediately nodded, feeling a huge amount of pity for all of the other lost spirits being crammed into such a small box.

"That's terrible! How many spirits could Dark Meta Knight possibly fit into a box of this size? And I thought Bun's sword was cramped!" Kamira exclaimed as she examined the box more closely.

Taking a step forward, Kirby inserted the key into the key hole of the chest and turned. Almost immediately, the box began to rattle, making the entire group jump back. The lid burst open as a flurry of glowing orbs shot into the air.

The group looked around them as the orbs gently began to fall back towards the rocks like snowflakes in the winter. By the looks of it, there could have been at least a couple thousand that had been locked away in the chest.

"_Hurry forward brave warriors, the end is near! With time running out, a desperate husband and wife to save, a city to cure of a black plague, and the journey home, you all must reach the Tower of Shadows and defeat the Dark One. Run forth friends! Follow the path ahead!"_

Then almost at a barely audible voice, another spirit said,

"_The first word of the beloved may be the only key to break the barrier of illusions around the one imprisoned in the dark."_

The group watched as the spirits vanished one by one into thin air. Their whispers, urging for the group to keep moving, came all around them. Kirby glanced towards the tower.

"What did that last part mean? I wish they would stop talking in riddles!"

"That's what we spirits do for fun I guess," Jecra said, shrugging. "Since we're dead and don't have a whole lot to amuse us, I suppose making riddles pass eternity a little."

Kirby turned towards the spirits of the group.

"You guys probably know what it means. Kamira, you understood what that phoenix spirit had said, right? Do you know what this riddle means?"

Kamira looked a little flustered as the entire group looked towards her and the other spirits.

"Hey, we're not all that great with interpreting puzzles. The other one just seemed to kind of click together. I have _no _idea what this one means!"

The other spirits nodded in agreement.

"But can't you see the future or something?"

"We're not fortune tellers or anything," Sir Arthur said, shaking his head. "We can see the dying dates above your heads and that somewhat tells us what is to come, but we can't actually foresee what choices and decisions you will all make. All that I will say is that even from the already small group we are left with, not everybody standing here will make it to Dreamland. Two of your comrades will fall before the very end."

The group looked around them from one to the other. Now, there were only ten from the original group of thirteen that ventured into the Mirror World. Fumu was as well as dead, and Sword and fallen to the monsters on the mountains. Meta Knight and Clara's current state was unknown, possibly both were dead.

"I'm one of them, aren't I?" Knuckle Joe asked quietly as he looked over the Dark Marks on his body and arms.

Both of his arms were now completely covered in the blackness and it was now climbing up around his neck and face.

"It burns like Hell…and by the time we reach the stairs, I'm probably going to be dead…"

"Don't say that Joe," Jecra said as he floated down towards his son. "Don't tell me you're going to give up when you haven't even fought the battle. We have to keep going, and no matter what happens, we have to finish this till the very end."

Knuckle Joe clutched his arms as they began to burn him again. It seemed worse than being thrown into a pile of burning coals. Meta looked up and walked forward. Knuckle Joe looked at him in surprise as the small dark blue puffball came closer than any of the others from their fear of getting infected with the Dark Marks. He reached forward, pulling the martial arts fighter's arms closer to him so he could get a better look. Then slowly, he held his gloves over them and closed his eyes.

The others watched in awe as a sphere of light blue enveloped the two. Knuckle Joe looked around himself as the light became brighter. He gasped as his arms began glowing as crystals began to form, covering all of the Dark Marks. He felt them harden before the light slowly dimmed and disappeared all together. Meta opened his eyes and just before they turned gold again, he could see that they had been pure white. Knuckle Joe looked over his arms.

"Wow…uh…thanks…"

Much to his surprise, he could still bend his arms as freely as he had been able to before. The burning had vanished and the crystals felt cool.

"How does it feel?" Garlude asked as she floated by him.

"Better. It's kind of heavy though, but I'll manage."

Knuckle Joe turned back to Meta and grinned.

"Thanks!"

Meta's eyes seemed to shimmer slightly. Never before had anyone thank him for anything. The feeling felt so good inside before another feeling came.

"Fri-_*hic*_-ends?"

Kamira brought a glove to her face.

"Ugh…not hiccups…"

"Why? What's wrong?" Kirby asked.

"Mety gets these hiccup attacks whenever he's happy or scared. Once he gets them, they usually take _hours _to get rid of. One time, it went on for _days._ And even worse, every time he hiccups, that voice chip in his body gets out of tune and I had to keep retuning it!"

"Voice chip?"

"You do know that…_he _wasn't born, but rather created in a lab right? The voice chip that gave Mety his ability to speak at all is extremely delicate…I ended up replacing the stupid thing after retuning it, only to find that I had to fix it again later."

They watched as Meta kept jerking upwards with each hiccup. Finally after a while, they disappeared.

"Well, what do you know, looks like it didn't affect the chip too badly. What a relief!"

Kirby bent closer to Kamira and asked quietly,

"Were _you _the one who gave my father his Spanish accent?"

Kamira nodded with a small smirk.

"Rather a nice touch, don't you think?"

Kirby looked back towards Meta.

"If we had more time, I would have loved to hear more about that. Anyway, we better keep moving towards the tower. I hope my father is okay."

"I'm sure he is. Mety doesn't give up on life too quickly. It would take an awful lot for him to even think of dying."

"That's what I'm worried about…Dark Meta Knight knows every last bit about my father, even more than my own Dad does…"

* * *

"Wow. This place is huge!" Bun said, mouth hanging open in awe.

The Tower of Shadows was surrounded by a wide city, just like the Mirror Tower; however, it's buildings were all in ruins. It had an entirely different feel than the demonbeast capital on the other side of the Border. Sparks from barely lit neon signs fell from the high structures as the group walked past. Deep vibrations under their feet along to a heavy metal beat. They could hear the low notes of the music emitted from somewhere in the city. It almost seemed to add to the eeriness of the abandoned city.

Meta had rode on top of Kirby the entire way to the city and he was now sleeping, making small noises every now in then that Kirby guessed was his snoring. To his annoyance, Meta was a lot heavier than he imagined and his energy quickly drained away.

They reached the tower after a long time of navigating the desolate city and stopped to gaze up in astonishment.

"Mom! Dad!" Kirby called out.

His voice echoed through the entire tower, finally receding into silence. They ran inside the tower and looked around them. The coffin in the center opened up and the others gasped when they saw Dark Meta Knight and Clara.

"Where's my father?" Kirby asked angrily.

Dark Meta Knight laughed slowly, letting his laughs echo throughout the tower.

"I _am _your father! What in the world are you talking about?"

"You're not my Dad!"

Dark Meta Knight sat up, brushing the dust and cobwebs off of his arms, making Clara sneeze.

"You are my son, so that makes me your father. I am _the _Meta Knight just as much as your other father, perhaps even more. If you're asking about your _other _father, he's…to put it lightly, hallucinating."

"What did you do to him?" Kirby hissed.

"Do you want to see him for yourself?" Dark Meta Knight asked.

Without waiting for an answer, he began walking towards the other side of the room where a metal door suddenly opened before he even touched it. Clara got out of the coffin and hugged Kirby tightly.

"My b…baby boy…I was so a…afraid for you…" Clara whispered.

She looked up and gasped. Meta had just woken up from his nap and he blinked as he looked at Clara.

"Is…is that…"

"Yes, Mom…its Dad." Kirby replied softly as of not to let Meta hear him.

She brought a glove to her mouth as it hung open in shock. Kirby cast a wary glance towards Dark Meta Knight.

"Don't let _him_ know that. Okay?"

She nodded slowly but her eyes did not leave Meta. The dark blue puffball suddenly felt nervous and began to hiccup again as he hid behind Kirby's back. The group followed Dark Meta Knight in silence through the same long passage way Meta Knight had been taken through. They entered the blistering heat of the old run-down factory room and on to the elevator. Kirby gasped the moment he saw his father strapped down on to the table. Almost immediately after the elevator lift stopped, he bounded across the platform and up on to the table.

"DAD! DAD!"

He shook his father, whose eyes were wide as if he were awake, reflecting the red light from above. His father did not stir. Dark Meta Knight walked over to the side of the table, looking at both Kirby and Meta Knight.

"My son, why do you care so much for that imposter? Right now, he is paying heavily for the mental torture he put me through."

Kirby called for his father over and over again, desperately shaking Meta Knight in hopes that he would receive some response, no matter it is was verbal or if he moved.

"He cannot hear you, nor feel you. He has fallen into the same darkness I had been in for thousands of years."

Kirby felt hot tears run down his face.

"What do you want? What do you want from me?"

"I don't understand what you mean by 'want'. I already have everything I want as of now. I have my dear wife and son with me…and the faker being dealt with. What more could I want?"

Kirby sat up, facing Dark Meta Knight.

"If you are my father, why don't you love me like he does?" He asked, pointing to Meta Knight.

"I love you very much, Kirby. The day you were born was one of the happiest times of my life. I was very proud to be a father, do you not understand that?"

Kirby stood up and jumped down from the table, opening his angel wings.

"I am going to find him, you can't stop me."

"Oh really? And what makes you think you _will _find him?"

Kirby stopped, trying to understand what the Dark One was telling him.

"The mind is more complex than just a few memories, it's a labyrinth. Memories and experiences flow freely through it, and to find him, you will have to make your way through the maze, go through his memories, and survive through his nightmares before you even can _think_ of finding him. If you think you can do it, then let's just wait and see. I'll let you all into his mind and I want to see which of you will bravely step forward to do so. Are you willing to risk your friends' lives just to satisfy your own selfish wants?"

Kirby looked back towards his friends, unable to find an answer, but all of them nodded towards him.

"Very well. You choose a very dangerous path, my son. Not all of your friends will make it out, but if you are willing to keep going…"

He raised his hand and suddenly, a wide shimmering portal appeared in the air directly above the stairs. Dark Meta Knight sat leisurely on the metal table beside Meta Knight and motioned for them to enter with a wave of his hand. Clara took a step back and walked towards both Meta Knights without a word. The others realized that the baby was making it extremely difficult for her to walk around and it would be a bad idea to have her enter the labyrinth with them. Dark Meta Knight held her close to him but she did not look at him.

Kirby looked back towards his father, bending his face close to Meta Knight's.

"Hold on Dad. I'm coming for you."

Then, he and the others faced the portal, took a deep breath, and entered the labyrinth.

* * *

Tall mirrors surrounded them as they entered. Above them, dark clouds swirled in the sky. Rain fell lightly from the clouds and they slowly rolled down the glass of the mirrors. They were in the center of a large maze, how big, they did not know. They drew their weapons out, ready in case if anything tried to attack them while they navigated the maze.

From above, they heard Dark Meta Knight's voice.

"The walls here are not just mirrors. You can step into each memory within them and even walk through them to the other side. In one of these memories, Meta Knight is somewhere here. I highly doubt you will even find him. If you get tired of this, just give a shout and I'll take you back out again."

Kirby waved Galaxia and pointed towards the maze's paths.

"Which way are we going to take? My father could be anywhere here!"

"I suggest that we through them one by one. We better not skip any though," Sir Arthur said.

"Should we split up? There are WAY too many memories to go through! We will never be able to find him if we go as a group." Bun said.

"No. Absolutely not," Kamira said firmly. "Dark Meta Knight doesn't care about any of us except for Kirby. If we split up, none of you will ever return from this maze. He couldn't care less if you died here. We must stay together and fight anything that blocks out path as a group."

The group nodded and glanced around them. There were two ways they could take as of now: the path in front of them and the path behind them. As they stood there, unsure of where to go, Kirby placed Galaxia on the ground and spun it. The group watched as the bright red ruby swirled before the blade pointed towards the path in front of them.

"I trust Galaxia. I'm going this way." Kirby said as he began walking forward.

The others followed him and they went deeper into the silent labyrinth. They listened as memories in the mirrors soon became audible. As they walked forward, they came to realize that they were walking past Meta Knight's life from the time he had been created, from past to more recent. Most of the memories here made them feel a great deal of pity as they heard Meta Knight scream out for forgiveness, only to be whipped hard against his back. Meta hugged Kirby tightly as they walked through them and shut his eyes, not wanting to be reminded of the horrible place he had been from.

Kamira suddenly stopped at one and placed her hand on it. The area around the group became engulfed in fog before it cleared away, leaving everything around them in a yellow tint. In the memory, the younger Meta Knight was seated on the floors of a pure white room. Nothing besides him were in it, leaving it rather barren. A large metal ring with long wires extending all the way to the ceiling had been fitted around his eyes. He was so completely still that he could have easily been mistaken for a statue. Even with each breath he took, he remained motionless.

The group turned around just as the only door in the room slide open and the familiar lizard, Scipio walked in, dragging the struggling figure of a man behind him. He walked straight through Dedede and Sirica as if they were nothing but air as he advanced towards the dark blue ball. Taking a better look at the man, the others could conclude he was of the same species as Kamira: human. His body was extremely thin as if he had been surviving only strictly the bare minimum for a very long time and the ragged and bloodied uniform that appeared to have been once very neat and sturdy seemed to hang loose around him. His dark chocolate brown hair had large patches of gray and the mustache above his lips were considerably slender. Kamira at once realized who it was in horror.

"…Father…"

Kamira watched as her father was forced to kneel down, bowing his head low to the ground so that his neck was exposed as if it was an offering of sacrifice to the dark blue ball.

"Nightmare requestz youz learned how to kill without hesitation by the end of the hour. Now, release your true powerz and kill this un'." Scipio said, pushing the man forward roughly.

"No," Meta Knight replied with a firmness that seemed to hide his fear.

Scipio bent closer, tail flicking side to side along with his snake-like tongue.

"Why do you haz reluctance to act properly? When youz are ordered to kill, youz will do so without questionz. You bring lotz of shame to the Empire ever time youz say 'no'."

The man carefully reached weakly towards his bonded wrists as the two demonbeasts fought. Instead of attempting to break free from his bonded wrists from the chains he knew he could not escape, the man lifted the ends of his torn left glove to reveal a brightly colored, beaded bracelet. The beads were plastic, the kind young children favored. It was easy enough for the group to realize that the charm had been made long ago by a very young Kamira. The sword lady could still hear the same words she had said the day she had given the bracelet to him ring in her head.

"_It's to protect you Daddy! For when you are fighting in the war. I wanted you…I wanted you to have it…I don't want you to forget me."_

"_Kamira, how could I forget my own baby girl?" Her father had laughed as he swept her up into a hug. "I won't be away for long; I'll be back before you know it and then we'll be all back together as a family again."_

Kamira could feel her eyes get wet. She had fallen for her father's cheerful words. The entire planet: Earth, had been at war over the little resources they had. Over water. Water had become so scarce that the countries without much nuclear power had been to first to be wiped out. All of the last few world powers had begun World War 7, the downfall of humans. So many people, innocent and bad died. She had been one of the last of the humans to walk the Universe and the loneliness came down upon her all at once.

Suddenly, the Meta Knight in the memory stood up, gloves shaking in anger. Scipio stood back, looking smug that he finally won the fight. Meta Knight raised his hand and closed his gloves into a tight fist. The man clutched his throat as he began choking. He coughed out blood as he was thrust into the air by an unseen force.

"Yez…keep focus…and then KILL!" Scipio directed.

"KAMIRA!" The man screamed out just as his body was brutally ripped apart.

Kamira covered her mouth with both hands as she watched blood spill out of her father. Out of a wife, son, and daughter, her father had shouted out her name as his last word. The group had to look away as his head snapped back; making a sickly crack and his flesh was ripped open. Blood pooled around his body as he collapsed and with a wave of Meta Knight's hand, it streamed up into the air like a dark red ribbon in the wind.

Kamira needed no second bidding as the group made their way to the other side of the memory and exited it and stepped out on to the other side of the mirror walls. She sank to the ground, body barely visible against the glass of the mirrors. Her thin shoulders trembled slightly.

"I…I don't regret what I did on that one day…taking in Mety and giving him my love and care…" She murmured. "I don't regret…looking after him…even if…he was the one who murdered my father…I had thought that my father fell to the hands of war. Never did I imagine this…"

Slowly, Meta looked down towards the ground as he pulled out a small object. He held it out to Kamira who looked up in surprise. In his glove was the bloodied bracelet, still mostly intact with a few of the beads still on it. Hesitantly, Kamira accepted it and took it carefully in her transparent hands. Along with other objects like mirrors, weapons, and jars, jewelry and other trinkets was also able to be touched by spirits. She let it rest in the palm of her gloves before she closed her fingers around it. She smiled a little. She wrapped her transparent arms around Meta in a ghostly hug although it felt like nothing more than a sudden chill in temperature.

"Thank you…" She said quietly.

Then, she stood up and nodded towards the group.

"Kirby, spin Galaxia again. I think the sword will take us to Mety if we keep following its lead."

The group continued through the maze and at every intersection, Kirby dropped the sacred sword to the ground and let it spin. Every single time, the sword pointed exactly to a specific path, never landing halfway between two paths. It wasn't long before the sword pointed back towards where they had come from.

"We must have gone too far," Garlude said. "Check the mirrors, maybe Meta Knight's in one of them."

Retracing their steps, Kirby found himself standing before one memory that was barely visible. Reaching forward, he entered the memory followed by the others. He gasped and ran forward.

"DAD! DAD!"

Meta Knight was lying face down on the dark ground surrounded by mists. Unlike the other memory, he was not tinted in yellow like the area around them. They had found the Black Angel.

"Dad?"

Kirby shook Meta Knight, turning him over on to his back. The knight looked up and suddenly sat up, backing away.

"S…Stay away from me!" He screamed.

His eyes were gold but not with the same brightness like the ones Kirby knew and recognized.

"Dad…it's just me…"

"No…no…no…you're just another illusion!" Meta Knight said, words becoming mixed together. "No…no…no…"

Kirby stood up and walked over to his father when the knight suddenly drew his sword and slashed out. Kirby fell back, a wide slash across his face. He sat up and felt it, letting the blood run off over his hands. He looked at his father in shock. Meta Knight began laughing hysterically as he turned to the rest of the group, holding the sword out and ready to strike at what his tortured mind thought as more nightmares coming to hurt him even more.

Kirby looked up just as Meta Knight leapt into the air, holding the sword in a killing position with its sharp blade pointing downwards, coming straight towards him.

* * *

**A/N: **Whoa…the group found Meta Knight but he's all hysterical now. He's now ready to kill them all.

Also, the group has rescued the rest of the lost spirits but what does that new riddle mean? Clara has finally seen her husband's younger self and now all she can do is to hope and wait outside of the labyrinth for the safety of the others. I thought it would be interesting that Kamira was the one who created that sexy Spanish accent for Meta Knight which we fangirls adore so much. ^_^

And now we learned more about what happened to the human race in this chapter. I did not touch upon it much in Angels of Prophecy and I wanted to try to explain it more. Looks like water became so valuable that people began World War 7 over it. The sad part about that is that its possibly what could happen in the future to us if the water sources disappeared or became undrinkable.

And lastly, we now know that Meta Knight's heart is Dark Nebula. What will be the more sinister aspect of it, its control over the knight or how it is a creature of its own, able to think and feel what is surrounding it?

I added a section to my profile page about my thoughts on each of the stories that I have posted on Fanfiction. You can check that out if you want.

Please review!


	12. Chapter XII: Pools of White

**A/N: **Well, we're with more of this…uh…story I guess.

Over the last few chapters, I have realized that Tokkori is spelled with two K's and Nightmare is NOT spelled with a 'K' in front. I had been misspelling their names since all the way back from Angels of Prophecy! Ugh…I'm kind of lazy right now so it's going to be a while before I MIGHT decide to go and fix it all…

How will the others free Meta Knight from him going insane? …what a dumb question…The lazy writer of this story was just too unimaginative enough to write a better Author Note. XD

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters here except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners. Somewhat tired of this message but I think it's important to not take claim for what is not mine.

* * *

**--Chapter 12: Pools of White--**

Kirby gasped and rolled to the side just as the bloody blade of Meta Knight's sword stabbed into the earth where he had been only moments before. He drew Galaxia before the crazed knight could pull the sword out of the ground and make another move to attack.

"Dad! Wake up! It's me, Kirby!"

"No…no…all of you are fake!" Meta Knight said slowly, taking a step back away from them all. "Everyone's dead…everyone's dead…you can't possibly be real!"

Kirby barely had time to block a powerful slash and the loud ring of steel echoed through the mists. Meta Knight made another quick stroke, forcing Kirby back. The pink Star Warrior was about to unleash a sword beam when he remembered he wasn't trying to kill; he was trying to save his father. He faced Meta Knight again, holding the sacred sword in both of his hands tightly, as if he was afraid of dropping it.

He dodged a low slash that was meant to knock the pink puffball off balance and for the knight to gain the advantage of the duel. He landed on his hands and just as he looked up, Meta Knight leapt into the air, sword pointed downwards in a killing position. Without thinking, Kirby opened his feathery wings to shield himself the way he had seen his father do many times before. A wave of pain shot through him and he screamed out as the sword sliced through his weak and slender wings. The white feathers instantly became a shiny red within a matter of seconds.

Kirby tried calling out to his father again, only to receive the same response. His father was trapped within his own nightmares, unable to wake up and realize he was attacking his son.

Suddenly, Meta Knight swung his sword down with all of his strength. The sharp edges of Galaxia caught the blade and the two blades locked together. Kirby was forced back as his father advanced. He could see and feel the intense fear in his father along with panic. Those two emotions alone strengthen each of his moves considerably. As the fight wore on, his attacks became wilder and frenzy, unlike the true grace and reassurance the knight had when he fought. Flashes of memories poured into Kirby's eyes as he remembered being trained by his mentor in swordplay. The same knight he was fighting now was nothing at all like the Meta Knight he knew.

They drew back and circled each other slowly. Meta Knight moved to ensure that the others would not be at his back and more towards the mists. Kirby walked forward before he was attacked by a barrage of vicious blows. Galaxia was knocked slightly out of his hand and Kirby was forced to hold it awkwardly. Now each of the attacks was difficult to defend himself against and he could not find a chance to get a proper grasp on his sword. Meta Knight stabbed at Kirby, catching the pink puffball by surprise and cut through his arm. Wincing, Kirby held on to his sword even more tightly and thrust his sword towards Meta Knight, hoping to disarm his opponent.

Abruptly, Meta Knight leapt back and lowered his sword. Likewise, Kirby did too in confusion. Then slowly, the knight closed his eyes and stood still as stone. His eyes reopened, now a snowy white. He raised his hand towards Kirby, just like he had when he killed Kamira's father. Kirby was suddenly lifted into the air, choking as some invisible force squeezed the air out of him. Blood flowed out from his mouth as the force tightened.

Meta suddenly ran forward and stepped in front of him. His eyes were white now and he raised his hand. The others watched as the dark blue ball was thrown to the side but he leapt back on to his feet and charged forwards. Kirby was suddenly released and he gasped for air, choking out more blood to clear his lungs. The others gasped as they watched the battle, now fought by Meta Knight and his younger self. The powerful connection in their minds could now be clearly seen as glowing dark 'hands'. They watched as the hand like objects wrestled each other. Meta's face contorted to a stressed one as the knight's mind flow forced the smaller one back. The two glowing streams drew back and suddenly lunged out the other, as if they were fighting cobras. Rocks around the battle arena shattered under the intense power of the mind flows. Kamira suddenly floated in front of the group with a face of panic.

"Everyone! We have to get out of here!"

Turning to the other spirits, they all nodded and closed their eyes. A faint hum emitted from them and the others watched as lights began to swirl around them. With a bright flash of light, all of them were blinded temporarily before the lights melted away. They were back in the Labyrinth again.

Kirby looked up as he and Meta got up from the ground.

"My father! He's still in there! I have to go back!"

"No," Kamira answered swiftly. "You don't know how dangerous it was to remain in there, don't you?"

She straightened her back as she turned towards the stormy skies above.

"You've seen Mety's eyes change to that white color a few times, right?"

Kirby slowly nodded, thinking about each time his father's eyes had turned to a color that no one could match an emotion to.

"That white means he's using his full power. When happy, it's perfectly safe, but when he uses it out of fear or anger, I highly suggest that you run. I…I've only seen him use his full powers once…after that, I was truly horrified by what he was capable of doing."

"What do you mean? Was he using his full powers when he killed your…"

"Yes. I don't know how far the limits go, but one of the things he is able to do is to rip apart the weaker minded people. He can use that mind flow of his to reach out and attack at those around him…a long time ago…I watched him use that…I can't explain the thoughts that ran through me…he murdered about three other people before he even realized what he was doing."

"What…what happened?"

Kamira turned away from the group, gazing out at her own reflection in the mirrors of the maze.

"I…I don't want to go into details about it…but it only took Mety less than twenty seconds and a sudden burst of anger to do that. I had to bleach the floors to get rid of the blood after that, there was so much of it. All of the walls in my house, do you know why they are a peach red color?"

The others shook their heads but they knew the grisly answer before the spirit said it.

"To hide the blood splatters. My house has been…ruined a few times. I don't know how my guests would have reacted if they knew what horrific deaths occurred there…but it showed me exactly what Mety was…a demonbeast. He's dangerous to be around when his eyes go white, I'll tell you that much. All of you were being threatened so we spirits had to do something before you too became part of the dead. You have to understand that I had to take action for the sake of all of you."

Kirby glanced towards the mirrors again, except the memory within it faded away. He gasped and pounded against the glass.

"Dad!"

He sank to the ground, leaning his head up to the mirror.

"Meta Knight must be somewhere else in the labyrinth now…" Sir Arthur said, looking down towards the other paths. "Don't worry; I'm sure we'll find him again, though I have a feeling we may not want to…"

"Of course I want to find my Dad! Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I sense that we're not the only ones in this maze now…"

"We're all going to die!" Tokkori cried out hopelessly. "Meta Knight's crazy now and he's going to murder us all!"

Dedede turned to Escargon.

"What are we going to do now?"

"Why are you looking at me? I can't do anything!"

"Usually you're the one who has the brilliant ideas."

"_Me?! _What about last time? You were the one that pointed out that there was still a way to get Sir Meta Knight back to normal again. I think _you _are the one who can save us all now!"

Dedede stepped back as the others looked towards him. He sat down on the ground with a heavy thud throwing his hands into the air.

"I'm not all heroic like all of you are! I'm not smart, I'm looked down on, and I can't fight anyone! Why would you think _I _can do anything at this point?"

Knuckle Joe rubbed his nose and smiled a little.

"Now's your chance, Gramps. Show what you got."

"I say we just give up and have Dark Meta Knight take us back."

"You got to try harder than that."

"That's what I truly think we should do."

"If you had to stay in this maze, what would you suggest that we do?"

Dedede turned his hammer in his hands as he looked down towards the ground, unable to answer. Suddenly he looked up and pointed at Kirby.

"Are you kidding me? Kirby's the only one who can do this. How did that riddle go? Something about how the beloved one was the key, right? It's simple; Kirby is the only one who can get Sir Meta Knight back and the first word he ever said in his life is the way to wake the knight up, and then we can get out of here and go home!"

The others blinked. Each one of them had been thinking way too hard about the simple riddle the spirits had given them. Only the mind of Dedede, which thought through things the simple way, had been easily able to interpret it.

"I suppose it was only difficult to solve because we are each too used to being up against challenging situations and have forgotten to think about the questions straightforward," Sir Arthur said slowly.

"Maybe we're just going insane like Sir Meta Knight," Bun sighed, sinking back against the mirror walls.

Sir Arthur laughed a little.

"Perhaps, but I've seen it many times before, soldiers would come back from the war and I ask them what color the sky is and they give me some complex answer that doesn't really solve the question."

In the distance, the group could hear the soft tinkling of a music box. Its sad melody seemed to fill the maze with a wave of loneliness. Kirby glanced towards the path that seemed to lead to the source of it.

"Should we follow it? We still don't know where my dad is or how to wake him up."

"I suppose we should follow it if we ever want to see Meta Knight again. I don't think we should leave without him." He said slowly.

"Well, the riddle's been figured out. All you have to do is just say the first word you ever said in your life and that should rouse Sir Meta Knight," Dedede explained, before silently saying to himself, _"or maybe a good whack on the head with my hammer should bring him around…"_

Everyone turned to Kirby who shook his head.

"I…I don't know what was my first word. My mother and father never mentioned anything about it."

"But usually it's 'Mama', right?" Garlude asked. "At least that was it for Joe and Sirica…"

"I don't think so. That's only the case for when the mother is around the most. Both of my parents hadn't been around much, I do recall being with my father more, but I never knew my mother until after the last trip when I saw her."

Kamira bit down on her lip.

"Mety is probably the only one who would know that. Clara might not ever know that herself since she had been presumed dead for so long after the war. If he was…thinking more clearly, he would have been able to tell us, but then again, we wouldn't even _need _to ask him in the first place if he was still sane!"

They began following the sound of the music box, still thinking about what to do. The spirits could not just continue to warp them out of danger, should they come across Meta Knight. Eventually, they would have to decide to either fight him or leave the maze, a decision that no one wanted to make.

The group passed by more memories. Although they had been walking for a while, they were still walking among the earlier ones where Meta Knight had still been a servant to Nightmare. They had skipped past quite a bit of it, however, when they crossed through memories to get to the other side of the walls. It only showed the group how complex and large the mind of one with so many memories and thoughts was.

Glancing through some of the memories, the group watched some of the ones they had heard about. In one memory, Meta Knight was kneeled down before Nightmare, begging for forgiveness. They could see and almost feel the aura of anger around the Emperor as he called out his guards to seize the small dark blue ball. They watched Meta Knight fight against them, using his mind flow to rip the demonbeast guards apart before he was forced down and a straightjacket was fitted over him. Again, Meta Knight cried out, pleading for Nightmare's mercy. The tall, cloaked figure did not sway in the slightest from his decision as the demonbeasts fitted the metal guard over the dark blue puffball's face. He was chained to the center of four large stakes secured my wide metal rings and the group could hear him sob out as the doors of the room closed, locking itself and would remain unopened for many hundreds of years before Nightmare would pay a visit.

They turned away from the memory and kept moving forward. The music was slightly louder now since they were closer, but it was still somewhere in the maze.

"So wait, I think I get how this maze works now," Lololo said.

"As long as we follow the memories in the order they happened, maybe we'll find the end of it. If we take a wrong turn, the memories will go further into the past instead of present. So after this, we have to go through the Prince's memories of Icronth," Lalala answered for her twin.

They came to an intersection where the group could see what the twins had pointed out. Going down one path, the memories continued through Meta Knight's experience in Nightmare Enterprises, while another path led to Icronth memories. They followed the two floating puffballs past the first mirrors where they could see Meta Knight crash land on to the snowy planet.

Kamira was a lot different in Meta Knight's point of view. For the first few memories, the group could see how desperately she tried to put up with the dark blue ball's arrogance and threats, before she grabbed a large bucket of water and dumped it on to him. The others almost had to smile as they watched her carrying him out into the cold garage, still soaking wet and blocked the door until the small puffball finally gave up and apologized.

After that memory, the others could feel the odd relationship grow stronger when Kamira became the figure of a mother for Meta Knight. Then, the group stopped at one of the memories.

Meta Knight was on Wolfwrath's back with a long spear in his hands. The weather they were in appeared to have not been one of the best Icronth days as strong winds blew past them, carrying small shards of sharp crystals. The group noticed that he now wore the mask they had always seen him wear. He now looked more like the Sir Meta Knight they had come to recognize and fight alongside with.

"You gave my father his mask, didn't you?" Kirby asked Kamira.

"I thought he could use it, since he became one of the Pack Hunters."

Seeing the look of slight confusion on the faces of the others, Kamira continued.

"The Pack Hunters was just a small group that hunted the big game on Icronth to provide the supplies needed by the rest of the people there. Mety was the youngest one to join and I was the first and only woman to join. It's not really that important as of now, though."

They watched as the two figures in the memory rode through the deep snow when suddenly, a long streak of bright light illuminated the skies of the snowy wasteland. Both of them stopped to watch it collide towards the bottom of one of the great mountain bases in the distance. A starship.

Tall clouds of black smoke raised into the air as the ground began to shake. Wolfwrath turned towards it and began to sprint towards it. It wasn't long before the group could see the symbol on the side of the destroyed starship.

GSA

In the memory, Meta Knight and Wolfwrath crouched down as they watched the occupants of the ship stumble out, injured but otherwise alright. The eyes of the others widened as they saw the blackened armor and mask of Sir Arthur, helping Clara stand upright. Five other soldiers slowly staggered out, all of them equally covered in bruises and blackened armor.

"Sir Falspar, status report." Sir Arthur ordered.

"We lost a few of our newly trained soldiers and one of the commanders," A dark green puffball with a maroon colored Mohawk said as he let out a loud cough to get rid of the smoke from his lungs.

"F…father, what are w…we going to do?" Clara asked Sir Arthur as he drew her close to him.

"It will be alright. We'll just…look for help and be on our way." He said confidently, although his eyes did not show it.

"This place is a wasteland! Who would possibly live in such a place?" One of the soldiers cried out.

Sir Arthur shot the man a glare.

"You best keep calm. There are very, very few uninhabited places in this universe. I'm sure _someone _lives here."

"Yeah, on the other side of the planet." Sir Falspar said, throwing his hands into the air.

Before they could say anything more, a large black shadow appeared over them. The group watched as the strange creature slowly advanced towards them. It highly resembled the sleek figure of a wildcat with a thick, furry white coat and a long swishing tail. Bulging metal-like guards lined its neck and feet, giving it more of a dangerous appearance. Its head had long and slender feelers that surrounded its neck. They flared out as one of the soldiers drew his rapier. Clara cried out and her father pushed her behind him to protect her as he drew his golden sword.

"I remember that thing…" Sir Arthur said behind the group. "I never had been as afraid as I was when I saw the thing turn to Clara…"

They watched as the soldiers struck out at the wildcat, but none of their attacks seemed to affect it very much. The wildcat hissed before it suddenly lunged towards one of the soldiers with surprising speed. The man's head was ripped off before he could even scream.

The animal's feelers reached out and examined over the group, as if to see which one of them was worth it to attack. Sir Arthur stood still as one of the feelers probed around him and Clara, before stopping on the girl. The GSA leader turned around and grabbed the slender object.

"Stay away from my daughter!" He shouted as he sliced through it with a wave of his sword.

The creature howled out and fully faced Sir Arthur. He stepped forward and held his sword out, ready to fight. Then, both charged forward. Sir Arthur neatly flipped through the air, dodging the vicious swipe of the animal's massive paws and ran forward towards its body. He stabbed his sword as hard as he could but the sword could not puncture through the animal's armor. Sir Arthur looked up just as the wildcat swatted him away into the mountain side with a powerful force. He slammed into the wall, the sword dropping from his hands as a few stones fell on to him. Clara had been watching her father slowly get up before she realized the creature was now standing over her. The feelers must have sensed her fear when they had probed around her and the wildcat took great interest into its new target.

All of the other soldiers were too far away to help her, including her father. Sir Arthur shouted out for her to run but she stood where she was, most likely frozen in fear. Just as the wildcat opened up its wide jaw to rip into her flesh, Meta Knight and Wolfwrath sprang up from where they were. On the wolf's back, it looked more dramatic then intended as Meta Knight leapt out on to the creatures back, grabbing on to its feelers. Wolfwrath slashed out with her claws along the creature's unprotected backside and it howled out. The wildcat turned its attention to its attackers as Meta Knight grabbed his spear and thrust it straight into the pupil of the animal's left eye. Liquid spurted out as the wildcat thrashed about, knocking against the side of the mountain and tall snow drifts. Like a wild rodeo ride, Meta Knight hung on tightly.

The others in the labyrinth watched as the battle unfolded before finally, the creature lay dead at Meta Knight and Wolfwrath's feet. The dark blue knight stepped forward and offered his hand to Clara who had fallen back into the snow.

"T…thank you." She managed to say as he pulled her upright.

Sir Arthur stepped forward, looking at the new stranger with his wolf companion who had just saved him, his daughter, and the few remaining soldiers.

"Young sir, you have received by deepest thanks for saving my daughter's life as well as the rest of us. Our starship has crashed and we are stranded here. May I ask where we can seek help?"

Meta Knight nodded and pointed towards the direction where the small villages of the snowy planet were.

"It's a longs ways from here though. If you will ride on my friend to it, I'll bring your starship there."

"But how can you-"

Sir Arthur did not finish his sentence as he glanced at the shivering soldiers. Right now, they were dying of hypothermia and if they did not get help immediately, they would die. He slowly nodded and Wolfwrath gave a quick glare at Meta Knight before she settled down into the snow where the soldiers could get on her back. She was a lot smaller at that time, but all of the soldiers along with Sir Arthur and Clara managed to get on. Clara sneezed as her body shivered violently. Meta Knight took off his extra cape that had been used to block the wind and wrapped it around her. She looked up in surprise.

"B…but don't you n…need it?"

"I'm fine," He said as he shook his head when she reached up to take the cape off and return it to him.

"Lad, who should we ask for help when we get there?" Sir Arthur asked.

"Ask for Kamira, Ice Huntress of the North. She will help you. Her house is on the outskirts with the large garage. I'll bring your ship there."

Before the gold armored knight could ask any further questions, concerning of how this stranger could possibly transport the wreckage across the snowy wasteland, Wolfwrath began sprinting towards the villages.

The memory changed and Meta Knight was standing in Kamira's living room. The only other person in there besides him was Clara, who was rubbing her hands together as she sat down on the warm animal fur draped across the couch. The others could hear the other soldiers, Sir Arthur, and Kamira talking in the garage, most likely about the damaged ship.

"So…what's your n…name?" Clara asked as she turned to Meta Knight.

"I…uh… my name's Meta." He stammered out, as if he had suddenly forgotten his own name.

Clara smiled warmly.

"M…my name's Clara."

They did not say anything for a long while before she spoke again.

"Y…you should join the GSA, with…your skills…with w…weaponry. The GSA c…could use as…many soldiers as they can g…get. My father, Sir Arthur, l…leads them all against…Nightmare's forces. I'm sure he w…would accept you i…into the GSA within a heartbeat if…you asked."

"I…don't know." Meta said quietly as he looked at her. "I can't be a soldier…"

"Why not?"

"I wouldn't…be able to fight with the bravery and honor that soldiers have…"

"Y…you fought bravely and…honorably against t…that creature. How…could you s…say that?"

Before he could answer, Sir Arthur, Kamira, and the soldiers returned into the room. Sir Arthur's eyes looked pleased.

"Well, it was fortunate that we have a fine mechanic here on this planet. Otherwise, all of us would be in a fix." He said, glancing at Kamira.

Clara got off the couch and walked over to her father.

"Father, do y…you think Meta c…could join the GSA? I'm…sure he would be a brave f…fighter along with the rest of…the soldiers."

Sir Arthur looked towards Meta and laughed kind heartedly.

"Of course! I was just about to ask that myself!"

Then he looked back at Kamira.

"…if it's okay of course."

Kamira looked a little stunned by the inquiry to take Meta with them and train him to be a soldier.

"Could I have a…private conversation first?"

Sir Arthur nodded and Kamira ushered Meta away from them and into one of the back rooms. They entered a room that was full of photos and other junk that could scarcely be picked out from the mess. The others realized that this room must have been Meta Knight's room when he had been younger. It almost seemed strange since he was always so organized.

As soon as the door was closed in the memory, Kamira nearly burst out.

"Who in the world are all these people Mety?"

"Mom, they needed help. Was I supposed to let them freeze to death?"

Kamira sat down heavily on a small wooden chair and rested her head on her hands. She sighed sadly.

"So are you going to join?"

It took a moment for Meta Knight to register the question.

"I don't want to leave you and Wolfwrath…"

Kamira held out her hands and hugged him tightly.

"I don't' want to lose you either, Mety, but…I don't want you to be stuck here on Icronth for the rest of your life. There are a lot of other places than this wasteland, more people to meet, and more sights to see. But I cannot decide for you. I want _you _to choose."

Meta Knight turned towards the ground before he suddenly hugged Kamira tightly.

"I…I wanted to join the GSA…but I don't know if I will regret joining it or not…they hate my kind, Mom. But I want to fight Nightmare and protect the universe…"

"Then you've made your decision. If you keep your cape on, no one will ever have to know, Mety. The secret will be yours and you can continue to fight for the universe. You should go back and tell those soldiers that you are going to join them."

"But what about you? Will you join? It sounds like they don't have a whole lot of mechanics there."

"No," Kamira said, eyes softening a bit. "I'm needed here, in case if the main generator here breaks again. All of these refugees would die if no one was able to fix it. I'll remain here on Icronth."

"So is this the last time I'll ever see you again?"

Kamira smiled a little.

"Visit me sometime and bring some of the friends you meet here too if you want. And write back or something to let me know that you're still okay."

Meta nodded before he got back down and walked to the door.

"Thanks…Mom."

He disappeared out the door and the group watched as Kamira looked around the room before picking up a small photograph with her, Meta Knight, and Wolfwrath. The group could see her smile a little before a thin line of tears flowed down her face.

Before the group could see anymore, the mirror blackened and everything disappeared behind a smoky veil. The mirror cracked before it shattered right in front of them, making them all jump back to avoid the sharp pieces.

"So that was how my mother and father met…" Kirby said quietly. "I don't know. I imagined it to be more…dramatic than that."

"Love's not always dramatic. It could be sparked from just saying a simple greeting." Garlude said gently, smirking at Jecra whose face flushed a little.

The group glanced at the blackened mirror again before they followed her away from it. Finally, they came to a large open space that resembled a courtyard. A stone fountain, ornamented with small stone flowers was at its very center and on the wide rim, the music box the group had heard stood. It stopped as the group came forward and it closed up by itself before vanishing. The group examined around the fountain curiously. Its crystal-like water reflected their wary and cautious faces as they slowly approached its edge. Suddenly, the figure of Meta Knight appeared in the reflection behind them. They whipped their heads around to face the knight. He was laughing hysterically to himself as he looked up towards them.

"It's you again…again…"He said, repeating himself.

"Dad…we're trying to help you…please!" Kirby said as he slowly walked forward, holding his empty hands into the air to show that he was coming peacefully.

"You're all just illusions…just illusions…"

"No, Dad! It's me, Kirby!"

"No. Kirby's dead. So is his mother…They're all dead! They're all dead!"

Suddenly, Meta Knight ran forward, holding his bloody sword above his head like an axe.

"They're all dead! They're all dead! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kirby fell back as Meta Knight thrust his sword into the area directly where the pink Star Warrior's face had been just moments before, still laughing crazily. Kirby leapt back up on to his feet and drew Galaxia swiftly. However, he had drawn Galaxia too slow. Meta Knight's sword sliced through the air, the sharp tip catching Kirby under the eye. He wiped away the thin line of blood with a shocked expression before he held Galaxia up. He blocked the next vicious swipes before he found his back touching the cold mirror walls. Suddenly, Meta Knight raised his sword and slammed it down as hard as he could. Kirby jumped into the air and kicked off of the labyrinth's walls, flipping up and over above his father as the sword shattered the mirror. Sharp glass bits came by like needles, some catching Kirby by his wings as he landed. He turned back to face his father whose body now bled from the numerous glass cuts.

Kirby looked into his father's eyes. For a moment, they seemed to flicker, as if he was coming back into sanity before his eyes became clouded behind the illusions Dark Meta Knight had painted specially for him.

"Dad! Don't make me hurt you!"

No reply came from the knight as he ran forward. Leaping up on to the fountain's wide rim, the Black Angel swung down his sword, creating a glowing sword beam. Kirby threw himself to the side as the golden arc ripped away at the mirror maze, shattering glass as it went. Meta Knight suddenly clutched his head, crying out in serious pain as more mirrors were destroyed in the distance and Kirby realized why.

_The maze…its part of father! He's hurting himself!_

Kirby stood up and slowly came forward. He felt his mind scream at him to keep his sword out but he sheathed Galaxia. Every last instinct in his body told him not to, but Kirby was going to try to peacefully bring his father back once again even when the other times had proven to be hazardous.

His shadow fell across the quivering figure of his father and held his open hand out. Meta Knight looked up and once again, his eyes flickered. Before Kirby could react, Meta Knight turned to him and struck out with the hilt of his sword. Kirby was thrown back into the shattered remains of the mirrors, the small shards cutting into his body as he landed on them. It stung as he slowly raised his head, the shouts of the others filling his head.

"Kirby! Run!"

Kirby looked up just as Meta Knight charged forward, sword pointed down into a killing position. Kirby's eyes widened before he snapped them shut and covered his head with his hands. Slowly, the shouts of the others, his father's running footsteps, and the sound of the fountain's water receded into silence. Opening his eyes, Kirby gasped.

Meta Knight was frozen in place from his running position with his sword's tip less than an inch away from his light blue eyes. The pink Star Warrior backed away from it and stood up. Everyone around him was frozen as well like perfect statues. Even the water from the fountain was frozen as small water drops. Walking over to it, Kirby curiously touched one of them. It was solid like stone, yet it still felt watery.

"Hello?"

His voice echoed through the entire maze before it too disappeared into the deathly silence. He ran over to his friends, now panicking. Bun's mouth continued to hang open as Kirby waved in his face, hoping to see some type of movement. Dedede did not turn at all as he nudged the penguin, nor did Escargon. Sirica was frozen into place as she was about to raise her gun to help Kirby. Even all of the spirits were frozen. Like transparent statues, Kirby's eyes widened as he tapped SailorDee. They too were solid. His hand stopped as he brushed against SailorDee's hand.

Backing away, Kirby looked all around him. It seemed as if time itself had stopped, leaving him in complete silence.

"Hello?"

Kirby sank to the ground at the fountain's edge. He was alone.

* * *

Kirby had his face buried in his hands as time remained frozen. Never had he felt as lonely as he did now. He could not even explain how everything around him had frozen. He felt hot tears drip down from his eyes. Even though he had matured greatly from an infant to the respected leader of the GSA, he was still young, and all he could do was cry. All of his friends…he might never see them move ever again…never hear them speak…never hear them laugh…

"_Kirby…"_

Kirby whipped his head up and frantically looked around for the one who had just said his name. The voice…it sounded like his father's. His hopeful eyes immediately turned to where his father was still frozen before his heart sank. Perhaps he was just imagining things.

"_Why do you cry, my son?"_

Kirby looked up and gasped. Before him stood a figure of pure white. His cape flowed behind him with smooth strokes like silk in a light breeze as he walked forward with an almost majestic stride. With each step, the ground around him rippled as if it was the watery surface of a lake. Unlike Dark Meta Knight, Kirby could feel warmth radiating from the light that shone all around the figure.

"D…Dad?"

The figure stopped as Kirby ran forward, desperate for someone to explain what was happening to him. The new Meta Knight reached out as Kirby threw himself into the reassuring arms of the white figure. The tears were carefully wiped away from under Kirby's eyes with a gently stroke of the figure's glove. The pink Star Warrior looked up in surprise into the figure's eyes. They were the warm gold that his father had.

"W…who are you?"

"I am your father. A side of him, at least, that has been forgotten for a long time. You may refer me as White Meta Knight."

"What do you mean by 'forgotten'?"

White Meta Knight sighed a little but the calm aura around him did not diminish.

"Come." He said before he began walking towards the labyrinth's paths.

Kirby followed him having to run a little to keep up with the figure's smooth strides. White Meta Knight placed his arm around the pink puffball and all of the feelings of hopelessness disappeared from Kirby's body.

"You've already met my opposite, have you not?"

"Who?"

"Dark Meta Knight."

Kirby nodded, thinking of the coldness in his father's darker self. Unlike Meta Knight's, his darker self's eyes were empty. They were emotionless as if they were dead. That alone made Kirby shiver slightly.

"I am what balances all of the corruption in your father's soul. I am his bravery, his honesty, his happiness and love—something that your father had so little of."

They continued walking through the maze without speaking for a while. The memories in the mirrors were frozen as well and each one of them was like a single picture, forever trapping that particular memory. Finally, Kirby looked up.

"Dad?"

White Meta Knight did not say anything but turned to the pink Star Warrior.

"What happened to everyone? How did they all freeze up? Why are you and I still able to move?"

"You are finally beginning to learn how to use your true powers."

"My…powers?"

"You are of both the Black Angel's blood line as well as the family of the White Angel's. Between the elements they control over, you possess the ability to walk between time streams, as well as slowing time or stopping it all together."

"What?!" Kirby gasped out, lost for any better words.

White Meta Knight chuckled quietly.

"Before, you thought that copying abilities were your only powers. They make up only a fraction of what you were born to be capable of. They are not your true powers, for you inherited them from your father since he was created to have them. You've used your power another time other than when you froze time before you were stabbed to death. Without knowing it, you snatched your father's younger self from another time frame and pulled him into the present."

Kirby could not do anything but let his mouth hang open.

"I…I did that?"

"Yes. I cannot teach you to use your powers. Only _you _can discover your full potentials. As of now, you may not have total control over time streams and you must continue to rely on your sword skills to guide you forward."

Kirby held up his hands and looked at them for a long time. They had been once pure white like his father's, but now they were blood stained and blackened from dirt. Somehow, he was able to control time. To him, he could not picture himself ever being able to do anything like what White Meta Knight had just said.

"Kirby, there is another thing…something that you must be prepared for."

Kirby looked back up towards the figure as White Meta Knight stopped. He did not turn towards the wondering pink Star Warrior.

"When you brought your father's younger self into the present, you placed an unspeakable danger upon you and your friends. By doing so, you have easily given fate another chance to end your father's life. He was not supposed to be here in the present. That is how time flows. Kirby, you must guard Meta at all costs. If you fail to do so, all of the events that were supposed to happen will cease to exist. Do you realize what that will mean?"

Kirby did not say anything, but he could already hear the answer in his mind.

"Any part of you or your friends' lives that had been touched by your father will change. Clara would become the unhappy wife of Sir Galacta Knight, with you as his son. Without you to be the legendary Star Warrior prophesized to fall from the stars on to Dreamland, Popstar will lose to the Empire and Nightmare Enterprise will expand even further. All of this revolves around your father's doing. Do you see the thin thread that you and your friends hang by?"

Kirby was at a loss for words. Meta. He had to keep the little dark blue puffball alive no matter what would happen.

"You hold the lives of your friends and your decisions will determine how many of them return to see Dreamland."

"What about..."

"Your father? His mind is set to never leave the Mirror World unless he was forced to move his people again to another place. The Mirror World is the ideal place for them to live in, although your father had to sacrifice something he had wanted more than anything—to be with you and Clara again. As of now, your concern is to make sure you and your friends will make it to the rip in the Mirror Lands. That tear in the sky leads directly home for all of you. However, getting there will be easier said than done."

"But don't we just have to get by Dark Meta Knight and run up the stairs?"

White Meta Knight laughed grimly.

"You speak too soon. You have frozen everything that was happening in both the Mirror World and in the Labyrinth, however, once time is unfrozen, everything will resume. When you and your friends left in search of your father in his own mind, you minds left your bodies back in the Dark Half. All of you are completely vulnerable. Both Dark Meta Knight and Dark Nebula could easily do anything they wanted and have you all at their mercy."

"Dark Meta Knight! He's going to kill everyone!"

White Meta Knight shook his head slowly.

"Dark Meta Knight is not the problem, Dark Nebula is."

Kirby remembered the unearthly stare of the small black star, making him shudder. It had been created by the Emperor, Nightmare. Undoubtedly, Dark Nebula could think, see, and feel everything that happened around it.

"Dark Nebula is more than just an artificial heart," White Meta Knight said, gazing up towards the dark clouds above. "It is the one that makes your father's emotions powerful, sometimes forcing them into the extremes. It has been feeding off of your father since the day Nightmare forced it into him and has continued to do so. However, Dark Meta Knight used it to let your father relive the horrible pains that his darker side had to experience because of him."

"But…how is Dark Nebula the problem? Isn't Dark Meta Knight the one who is hurting Dad?"

"While you were still wandering through the labyrinth, Dark Nebula took control of the machinery around it to form a new body for it and in seconds after you unfreeze time, one of your friends will be brutally murdered by it."

Kirby felt his heart stop as he looked directly at the white figure. He opened his mouth to ask, but no words came out. He wanted to know, yet he was afraid of the answer he would receive. Closing his mouth again, he tried to breathe normally.

"It's hard knowing that someone close is about to die isn't it?" White Meta Knight asked gently. "However, sooner or later, you will have to unfreeze time and face whatever fate was written as."

"Will…will I know?"

"Know what?"

"Know what choices to make? The ones that will bring everyone home?"

White Meta Knight did not say anything for a long time but finally, he said quietly,

"Have faith in yourself, Kirby. I cannot tell you what decisions, no matter how easy or hard to make, you will face, as I cannot see into the future; however, all of your friends have complete faith in you."

Then, White Meta Knight spread his pure snowy bat wings into the air. Had they been feathery, he could have easily been mistaken for an angel.

"The path ahead is not an easy one, no one ever said it would be, but do not allow them to separate your friends and do not let yourself fall to the darkness like your father did. Farewell, Kirby of the Stars…"

He flew into the air as his body began fading. Kirby called desperately after him.

"How do I unfreeze time?!"

"You will know when you're ready…" White Meta Knight said before he completely vanished.

Kirby opened his mouth to shout some more but instead, he let out a sad sigh. It was useless shouting at the air when everything was frozen into statues. He looked around to realize that during their walk, they had ended up back in the clearing with the large fountain. Still, all of his friends along with his father were frozen.

Kirby glanced towards the others. One of them was going to die just moments after he unfroze everything. Would he be hated for letting it happen, even when he knew someone was going to die before his eyes?

Slowly, Kirby breathed in and out and closed his eyes, concentrating on his inner strength. He could not help his father here in the Mirror World. He would have to leave him here and try to find another way that would not put their lives at the high risk they were in now.

He felt a wave of energy surge through his body as he felt his heart beat slower, but more powerfully. Around him, he could hear the shouts of the others, at first slow along with the faint sound of water from the fountain as time began to unfreeze. The time of judgment had begun.

* * *

At first, everything seemed slow before suddenly, everything snapped back into action. The others gasped as they watched Kirby disappear before their eyes as Meta Knight's sword stabbed through the air, only to appear right beside them. Kirby opened his eyes and faced the group.

"We have to go now!"

"But what about your fa-, "Sir Arthur asked in surprise before he was cut off by Kirby.

"NOW!"

Suddenly, Knuckle Joe clutched his chest as blood came flowing from his mouth. Sirica held him up just as he was about to collapse.

"Joe!"

The others watched as his shirt grew darker as it became soaked in blood. Knuckle Joe's eyes looked down at himself in shock before he closed them for the last time and went limp. Sirica shook him frantically.

"What just happened? JOE!"

Kirby turned back towards the spirits of the group and nodded. Before he closed his eyes, he watched as the spirits swiftly encircled them and began to hum as light began to engulf them. Knuckle Joe had been the one that White Meta Knight had said was to die first. Kirby could not imagine what horrors they would face when they returned to the Mirror World.

…but then there was still his father that would be left behind here…

Kirby opened his eyes. The light swirled around too fast for him to see clearly, but Kirby could have sworn he saw Meta Knight's eyes flicker as he watched the others leave. The gold pools that formed his eyes had a deep loneliness to them, almost making Kirby want to turn back for his father.

_Dad…I'll find a way to bring you back. I promise you._

With a sudden brilliance, the labyrinth walls melted away and everything around them was in bright lights before everything became surrounded in blackness.

Opening his eyes, Kirby could feel his head spin slightly but blinking, he gasped out as he realized the danger. Knuckle Joe's body had been stabbed through by a long metal needle-like object with long blades at the end that ripped through his body. His body collapsed to the ground and Kirby found himself looking directly at Dark Nebula from behind the glowing red glass.

* * *

**A/N: **I really did not want to stop but I guess I had to end the chapter at some point, huh? One question for my reviewers: Is Sir Falspar the dark green puffball with the red Mohawk or something? I can't keep track of any of the other soldiers besides Sir Arthur, Meta Knight, Jecra, Garlude, and Sgt. Kit Cosmos.

I named this chapter 'Pools of White' to represent the color Meta Knight's eyes turn when he's about to use his full powers. I did not know if using 'his mind flow' for another way to attack was lame or what. I guess the lazy writer of this story was just out of ideas!

So now Kirby has learned of his true power: power over time. How will he be able to use it when he still doesn't have complete control over it? And now there are WAY too many Meta Knights! Let's make a little list here: Meta Knight, Meta, Dark Meta Knight, and now White Meta Knight. Geez. Things are going to get too confusing if I add any more! 0____o

Knuckle Joe is dead, killed by Dark Nebula. We still have yet to see what horrible monster Dark Nebula has transformed into, but I guarantee some action in the next chapter. Meta Knight is still trapped in his own mind and Kirby must find another way to bring him back.

"You're all just illusions…just illusions…"

"**They're all dead! They're all dead! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" **

Maybe I should use that for my new page breaks! XD

Please review!


	13. Chapter XIII: Spiraling through Time

**A/N: **We're back with Kirby battling Dark Nebula. White Meta Knight had said that Dark Nebula was the problem, not Dark Meta Knight. Still, the group will have to get past both of them to go home.

**Disclaimer: **Hmmm… how to make this interesting…

Cosmicgiraffe does not own any characters except for her OCs. If she did, she would not be on Fanfiction writing junky chapters! She would be making awesome video games for people to play. XD

* * *

**--Chapter 13: ****Spiraling **through Time--

Peering over Knuckle Joe's lifeless body, Kirby gasped at what he saw. The black star now had the form of a large mechanical being, taking the structure of a spider. Pipes and wires had been ripped out from the ceiling to form its massive body and they formed its several legs as well. Each of them was equipped with several blades, ready to rip and tear at anything that got in its way. The red glass looked even more like an eye now with Dark Nebula acting as its pupil at the very center.

The others opened their eyes and lifted their heads up, still dizzy. Kirby watched as the mechanical spider bend down closer to examine them. A small red dot appeared on his forehead as the machine turned directly towards the pink Star Warrior, probing through his thoughts. As if uninterested, Dark Nebula shifted its gaze away from him to turn to the small dark blue ball beside Kirby.

Meta.

He was not yet fully aware of his surroundings and his gold eyes looked somewhat dazed. Dark Nebula pointed its laser to Meta's forehead, before suddenly, it stopped. The star seemed to grow larger like an expanding pupil as it carefully looked over the dark blue ball. All at once, its arms lunged out towards him. Kirby was already on his feet and he knocked both him and Meta to the side as the spider struck out into the air, just missing them. Meta's eyes snapped fully awake and his small bat wings spread out behind him defensively out of instinct.

"Joe!" Sirica cried out from behind them.

She tugged at Knuckle Joe's body, hoping that he wasn't truly dead before she was forced to jump back as the spider slammed its mechanical limbs down with a powerful force. The entire platform shook from under the pressure.

"Sirica! Joe's dead! Run and save your own life!" Garlude shouted towards her daughter.

Dark Nebula did not turn away from Meta as it advanced. It's small laser continued to point at his head as it stared intently on him. Slowly back away, Kirby bent down to carefully pick up a long steel bar that had been torn away from its machine. He turned it over in his hands as he made his way back to Meta, never letting his eyes leave Dark Nebula's new form. Suddenly, he charged out and slammed down as hard as he could upon the glowing red glass. The spider thrashed about as the glass shattered, leaving a long crack down its center and missing fragments at the edges. Kirby jumped back before he was crushed to death and grabbed Meta before running. Dark Nebula wanted something from his father, perhaps for him to die? Kirby did not know the answer, but for whatever reason, he did not plan to find out.

"RUN!" Kirby shouted, although he could have saved his breath.

The others had already run to the far ledge, a safe distance away from the spider leaving only Meta and himself. He pushed the dark blue puffball ahead of him as they ran while Dark Nebula was still temporarily stunned. They were about half way across the platform when Kirby turned back.

His father! Meta Knight was still strapped down to the table, eyes still open and emotionless. Dark Nebula shook its large head as if to get rid of the sudden dizziness it had experienced and looked around for the two puffballs that had just escaped him. The black star shifted its gaze upon the blue knight and it pointed its laser directly between Meta Knight's eyes and probed through his mind. Like it had when it examined Meta more closely, Dark Nebula pulsed wildly.

"DAD!" Kirby shouted as he sprinted back.

Dark Nebula's mechanical arms switched to a rusty chain saw and in moments, all of the straps had been sliced through. Its claw like hands closed around Meta Knight and lifted him up into the air. Dark Nebula turned towards the running figure for a brief second and Kirby could have sworn the one eyed star shot a glare towards him before suddenly, the spider leapt up into the air with surprising agility. It flew clear across the room to the far wall where its wires and pipes secured themselves down and the mechanical spider began scampering up as easily as a regular spider would have been able to.

Kirby stopped at the edge of the platform, panting slightly as he looked up. There was no way he would have been able to jump like that all the way across the large factory room. He felt weak and helpless as he watched Dark Nebula take his father away towards the large nest of wires and pipes at the room's ceiling. His wings…he did not even know how to fly with them…nor did he fully believe they were strong enough to carry him all the way up…but he could not let his father die.

Spreading them out, he heard the spirits try to stop him, but their shouts seemed to not register in his mind.

"Kirby! Don't! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"You don't even know how to use them! Stop!"

Kirby leapt as far as he could off of the platform, letting the air rush under his feathery wings. He could feel the feathers on it bristle as if in anticipation. For a moment, he thought he was flying, but suddenly he plummeted downwards. His wings uselessly crumpled as he fell past conveyor lines, now functioning fully and webs of thick wires, some of which were frayed and tore through some of his feathers. Bubbling vats full of molten liquids came past them. The heat coming from it was almost unbearable. He twisted his body to the side to avoid another of the death cauldrons before someone grabbed him. He looked up to see Meta who had to flown down to save him, pull him upwards.

"Fold…your…wings!" Meta grunted as he struggled to keep them both in the air.

They were soon sailing back up past the platform and in high pursuit of the spider, now lying in wait for them. Lololo and Lalala held on to Bun and Blade as they joined the two puffballs, along with Tokkori. Together, they flew up towards the nest of wires.

Up near the ceiling, there was a wide platform with a shallow pool of water, large enough for the Halberd to fit in it. The group cautiously stepped into the water and the ripples from their footsteps traveled the entire area of the pool. They looked around them, searching for Dark Nebula along with Meta Knight, but neither of them could be seen. As they reached the center of the pool, Kirby felt the feathers on his wings stand up. They were being watched.

Kirby swiftly looked up and gasped. Dark Nebula suddenly dropped down from the wires it had been holding on to and landed in front of them with a mighty splash. Two large pincer-like objects that hung where the spider's mouth was clicked together as Dark Nebula opened its eyes to look at them. Right below its neck, Meta Knight hung from limply from the long strands of wires that secured him to the spider's mechanical body. Kirby watched as more and more wires slowly wrapped over his father, threatening to pull the knight deeper into the monster's body. Already, both of his arms were entirely covered with wires that coiled around them and new wires were snaking their way across his body.

"DAD!" Kirby shouted.

He ran forward and swung Galaxia down. The sword beam missed Dark Nebula however and ended up cutting through many of the wires that held the platform in the air. The pool's water immediately drained as the platform tilted into a slanted position. Blade slid down to the very edge before he could grab hold of something, which ended up being Dark Nebula's mechanical limbs.

The spider looked down to see the struggling apprentice and shook him wildly. The others watched as Blade desperately hung on for dear life. His grip slipped and he fell off the platform. Grabbing on to a low hanging wire, he wrapped his body around it, heart still thumping wildly in his chest.

Bun raised his sword and blocked the large daggers that the mechanical monster thrust at him. Already, he was a strong fighter although he had less training than the others. He faced the creature and struck out at a rusty hinge. One of the spider's many limbs snapped off and Dark Nebula flinched back. Happy with his own triumph, Bun leaped into the air, synchronizing his moves with Kirby so that they attacked the monster at the same time. Their move was powered by the force of their teamwork and it knocked the spider to the side.

Lololo and Lalala along with Tokkori stayed behind to watch their friends battle. They all felt weak and unneeded at times. None of them ever had any time to be the hero for anything. Noticing this, Tokkori turned to them.

"So we're just going to sit around until they all get killed, huh?"

"Well, we can't fight with swords or anything…" Lalala said sadly.

"We don't have to fight using any fancy weapon; I think I have an idea. Come with me." Tokkori said as he flew into the air.

Curiously, the two twins followed the bird as the fight continued on the platform.

Kirby flipped through the air as the monster suddenly swept its limbs across the platform, hoping to push them off. Bun fell back and grabbed hold of a pipe and swung himself on to it, just missing the attack. He thrust his sword down into a metal spring that had given the monster's arm better flexibility and it made a loud snap. With the next move Dark Nebula made, the entire spider-like leg dismembered from its body. Now with so many of its many legs gone, Dark Nebula had great difficulty keeping its stability straight and it awkwardly stumbled across the platform, leaning heavily towards one side.

Tokkori along with the Lola twins suddenly came down, holding a long spear-like metal rod between them. They came down upon Dark Nebula with a blinding speed as if they were a bullet. They smashed through the glass and struck out at the black star, whacking, pecking, and punching at it as much as possible. Dark Nebula frantically swiped at them to get rid of them, its own hands breaking the glowing red glass panel in front of it even more.

Kirby looked up to see that the spider was no longer keeping a high guard over his father and running forward, he struck out at Dark Nebula's chest. It fell back as Kirby clambered up to Meta Knight and began hacking away at the wires. Like fast growing weeds, the wires that were sliced through were soon replaced with more, thicker ones.

Many of the wires were frayed, reminding Kirby of the sharp thorns on rose bushes. They cut through his hands as well as Meta Knight's body. Suddenly, one of the wires moved up and snatched Kirby's wrists. Yelling and kicking, he tore through it as more came up at him.

"DAD!" Kirby shouted out as he was thrown back off of the creature.

He landed heavily on the base of his wings and he curled up as tight as he could upon impact. Meta walked up towards him and almost tentatively, extended a hand out to help pull Kirby back on to his feet. He seemed almost unconcerned with what was happening to Meta Knight, not knowing that it was his own future self that was in danger. Kirby almost wanted to shout at him for him to actually _look _a little apprehensive.

Before he could say anything, Dark Nebula got up and turned directly towards them. Once again, the single eye of the black star fixed upon Meta. Kirby held out Galaxia and was about to strike, he was swept aside as if he was an annoying fly. He skidded across the platform's edge, now slick with blood. He managed to stop himself before he fell off the side.

Meta backed away, eyes unable to tear away from the red glow around Dark Nebula and run for his life. He remembered when Nightmare had replaced his other heart for this one, along with the excruciating pain that followed. Suddenly, the spider reached out and snatched him up into the air. He could not break free from its grip as Dark Nebula brought him closer for better inspection.

Kirby looked up just as Dark Nebula drew out its slender daggers and stab into Meta. Blade, Bun, Tokkori, Lololo and Lalala all froze along with Kirby as they watched Meta slowly fall limp. Dark Nebula released the figure and Meta collapsed to the water, turning the pool dark red from his blood. Kirby looked down at himself and gasped. He was fading away.

All of them were fading away. Bun. Blade. Tokkori. Lololo and Lalala. They were fading as well. Dark Nebula began vanishing as well along with the entire ruined factory room. Kirby's eyes widened as he realized why.

_Meta…he died when he wasn't supposed to…the past is changing! None of us would be here in the Mirror World!_

In a matter of moments, everything around him disappeared along with his own body. Kirby tried to call out but his voice seemed to recede into the void of silence. Then, everything went black…

* * *

"Uhn…."

"I…is something w…wrong Kirby?"

That was Clara's voice. His mother's. Opening his eyes, Kirby found himself looking up at the tired face of Clara. His vision was blurry but he could see that her eyes were full of worry, as she placed the back of her hand against his forehead. Sitting up, Kirby's eyes refocused and he found himself in an unfamiliar room. It was a furnished room, like the kind where people would live in. Everything in it had the color of white, excluding the few odd bits of color here and there. The couches where he was sitting on lay in a semicircle in the living room and the table beside it was spotless.

Looking at his mother, he found that she was no longer wearing the black cape she usually wore, but rather a white one. There were no bandages in her hair which was neatly tied back with a few braids. He looked at himself to find that he no longer had the shoulder plates of cape which Meta Knight and Clara had given him. Unstained white gloves covered his hands, but for some reason, they did not feel right.

"So, the brat finally wakes, huh?" A cold voice sneered.

Both Kirby and Clara looked up to see Galacta Knight walk into the room, white cape flowing behind him as he strode forward. Kirby gasped. Galacta Knight was dead! How could he have been standing here before him?

"Galacta Knight…s…stop it!" Clara cried out weakly.

She stood up as he came forward, not taking his eyes off of her. Clara backed away when he suddenly snatched her hand. She tried to pull away from him but his grip was too strong. As she attempted to twist away, her glove was pulled back and Kirby's eyes widened. The wedding ring that Meta Knight had given her had a sapphire at the top of the delicate silver frame.

This one had a bright red ruby.

"Let me go!" Clara sobbed out as Galacta Knight pulled her closer to him.

Galacta Knight was about to say something to her when he looked up towards the gaping figure of Kirby and his eyes turned to a glare.

"What are you gawking at? Perhaps someone should put you into a mental hospital. Better—get rid of you all together!"

"No! Please!" Clara cried out. "You can do whatever you want with me, but don't hurt him!"

Galacta Knight did not reply but he turned his attention away from Kirby and back to Clara. He roughly pushed her away, sending her sprawling to the floor and as he turned, Kirby caught a glimpse of the symbol on the back of his cape.

GSA

Just then, there was a knock on the far door. Clara stood up and without another glance, ran into the other room, tears streaming down her face.

"Enter." Galacta Knight said.

The door opened and two soldiers carrying a struggling figure between them came in. Kirby knew at once who the figure was.

_Sgt. Kit Cosmos!_

Sgt. Kit Cosmos had a desperate look on his face as he was forced to the ground before Galacta Knight's feet. His hands had been chained behind his back and Kirby could see the thin line of blood that flowed from the corner of his mouth. Other GSA soldiers entered the room as another familiar figure stepped forward. Sir Falspar.

"Sir. We have found the one that poisoned Sir Arthur as well as the one behind the other murders here in the GSA headquarters."

"Oh really?" Galacta Knight asked slowly, circling around Sgt. Kit Cosmos. "So, you were the one who killed all of those innocent people? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do it!" Sgt. Kit Cosmos cried out. "Sir Arthur was poisoned by-"

"You?" Sir Galacta Knight cut in before the gray fluff ball could say the rest of what he was going to say. "Finally admitting it, eh? And what do you suppose you deserve for such manslaughter?"

"You don't understand!"

"Guards. Take this mad man away into the dungeons. I'll figure out what to do with him later."

The soldiers grabbed Sgt. Kit Cosmos and thrust him into the hall. He frantically resisted, trying to prove his innocence. Galacta Knight watched him with an almost amused expression before the door shut closed again. Clara was back in the room again, eyes red from crying and shaking slightly.

"Clara. Bed. Now."

Slowly, Clara began walking towards a door which Kirby guessed led to their bedroom. He felt a sudden burst of anger fill his entire body.

"Don't talk to my mother like that!"

Both Clara and Galacta Knight stopped and faced Kirby, one in shock and the other with building anger.

"What did you just say?" Galacta Knight asked, with a murderous tone.

The White Angel slowly walked towards Kirby, eyes like pure ice. Kirby would not let the knight hurt his mother like he had been; he would not back down to him.

"I said, don't talk to my mother like that!"

"What a way to speak to your father…" Galacta Knight said quietly.

"Wh…what?!"

"You act as if you're surprised…"

"Y…you're not my father!" Kirby gasped out.

Galacta Knight burst out with his cold laughter. It filled the entire room until Galacta Knight faced Kirby again.

"You think I'm not your father? So, tell me, who _is_?"

Kirby opened his mouth when suddenly, his mind went blank. Who was the dark blue knight again that he thought was his father? Or was he his father? Was Galacta Knight his father?

_But what about…_

The names of the pony tailed girl, her brother, the penguin, the snail, and all of the others were all gone from his mind. Did he know them? Why did their faces appear in his mind? A few moments later, he could not recall what they even looked like any more. Kirby brought a hand to his head as everything started spinning. Galacta Knight shook his head as he watched the pink puffball collapse to the floor.

"Stupid boy. Clara. Bed. I have business to attend to."

Galacta Knight disappeared out the hall and the last thing Kirby saw was the end of his cape before the door closed.

* * *

"Kirby."

Everything still seemed dizzy as Kirby opened his eyes. He was tucked into bed in a small room and Clara was sitting at the edge of it, pressing a damp rag to his hot forehead.

"Oh Kirby…I…I was afraid…that Galacta Knight was going…to…"

Kirby sat up suddenly and whipped his head around. He had thought it had been all a dream. Galacta Knight really was alive! The room they were in now barely appeared to be a kid's room. Generally, a children's room would have bright, cheerful colors and lots of toys around. All that Kirby could see was a lone teddy bear that had seen better days and a gray bedspread.

"Mom…I"

"H…hush now child. I…I don't want Galacta Knight….to p…put you into a…mental hospital…"

"Mom! Galacta Knight's not my father! What's happening? Who poisoned Sir Arthur? Why is Kit Cosmos accused?"

"Kirby!" Clara said as she placed her hands swiftly over his mouth. "P…please. Your f…father has much work…around the GSA. N…now that he's the…leader…"

"WHAT?!" Kirby exclaimed, pushing her hands away. "Who would let _him _be the leader of the GSA? What about Sir Arthur?"

Clara covered her own mouth as tears welled up in her eyes. Kirby could see that she wasn't going to say anything more. She ran out of the room without looking back. Kirby could not bear to see her like that. She was so…sad and unhappy. Straining his memory, Kirby tried to think back if he ever had another life where his mother had been happy. Had he been dreaming? Galacta Knight was his father. Kirby could not understand how he would have thought otherwise.

But there was still that burning question. What had happened to Sir Arthur? He would have been the only man who could have helped him.

_I have to find Sgt. Kit Cosmos!_

Kirby jumped out of bed and ran to the door. In seconds, he was out of the living suite of Sir Galacta Knight and out into the hall. He ran, although he did not have a clue where the dungeons where the fluff ball commander was being held, was located.

He ran past several confused soldiers until he ran into Sir Falspar. The green puffball looked up and almost flinched when he saw the GSA leader's son nearly smash into him. It seemed as though everyone was afraid of Galacta Knight, yet no one had the guts to stand up to his control.

"Where are the dungeons where Sgt. Kit Cosmos is being held?"

"Down the hall, left, elevator, basement level two, twenty third cell!" He blurted out, not even stopping to ask why Kirby was asking.

Shouting his thanks, Kirby took off, following the instructions carefully until he came upon the dungeon halls. He never knew the GSA kept prisoners in such horrible conditions…or perhaps that was Galacta Knight's doing. The guards that Kirby came across never stopped him as if afraid of the leader's son, only confirming Kirby's earlier suspicions.

"Kit Cosmos!"

"…K…Kirby?"

Following the voice, Kirby found himself looking straight into the dirt covered face of Sgt. Kit Cosmos. He grabbed hold of Kirby through the bars of his cell, clinging on desperately.

"Kirby! You have to understand! I wasn't the one who-"

"I know you're innocent! I came here to hear what happened, to Sir Arthur."

Immediately upon hearing the deceased GSA leader's name, Sgt. Kit Cosmos fell silent. He sank to the floor, boots skidding across the cold floors.

"I need to know what happened," Kirby said slowly. "Please, tell me the whole story."

"Well, I…" Sgt. Kit Cosmos began. "It was after the wedding, after Clara and…and Sir Galacta Knight wed, that Sir Arthur declared Galacta Knight as the new leader. However, the original war committee would still be in place, where they could turn down any orders to take the troops to war if they did not believe it was justly. All of the commanders, including I were part of the committee…now I'm the only one left…"

"Please, tell me what happened to Sir Arthur."

"About a month later, the war committee got together again, Sir Galacta Knight was there along with Sir Arthur. We had been drinking and…and…Sir Arthur suddenly collapsed. Later, the doctors who analyzed him confirmed he was dead, killed by poison. Immediately, a search for the one who had slipped the poison into his cup was made. Other commanders mysteriously disappeared, though I don't believe they ran away. Someone _killed _them. One body was found in a storage closet on one of the basement levels—a commander…"

Suddenly, Sgt. Kit Cosmos shook the bars.

"Galacta Knight was the one who killed them. _He _was the one who poisoned Sir Arthur, to get him out of the way!"

Suddenly, everything made sense. Galacta Knight had murdered anyone that proved a threat to his position, disposing them quickly. The commanders along with Sir Arthur would have stopped him if he wanted to use the GSA's power for evil. That was why they were all dead. And now Sgt. Kit Cosmos was the next one to go, because he was the final person who would stand up to Galacta Knight.

Before Kirby could ask anymore, soldiers suddenly entered the dungeon halls.

"Time is up Cosmos. Time to pay for your crimes."

"No! Stop! You don't understand!" Sgt. Kit Cosmos cried out as he backed away.

The cell doors were opened and they snatched the dark colored fluff ball out. They led him out as he continued to plead his innocence. Kirby stood up and for some reason, he could not move. Perhaps the last person he had that could have helped him was about to be executed. He knew what he had to do.

Galacta Knight looked up from the magazines of women and hurriedly stuffed them into a desk drawer as someone knocked on his office door.

"Enter."

His face changed from a panicked one to a face of anger when Kirby entered the office. Kirby could not help but look around the office. Apparently, this had been Sir Arthur's office before he had died. His name plate was in the trash and now a new one was set on the large marble desk.

Sir Galacta Knight.

The knight sat behind the desk in a leather, black executive chair. The desk had stacks of important looking papers, but none of them looked as though they had been touched.

"What do you want, brat?"

Kirby closed the door behind him and pointed at the knight accusingly.

"You're the one who did it."

"Did what?"

"You're the one behind all of the murders, including Sir Arthur's death!"

Galacta Knight let out a cold chuckle.

"Sir Arthur's…sudden death was rather unfortunate, but I certainly did not poison him!"

"Maybe you weren't the one to put the poison in his cup, but you were the one to order that!"

Galacta Knight stood up from his leather executive chair and began pacing in a circle around Kirby.

"Stupid child. Stop your babbling and leave your busy father to his work. I have to arrange the new battle plans when the troops enter Dreamland. I've been told that we have…some resistance, though small."

The name seemed to spark up in Kirby's mind but it soon died away.

"The GSA was meant to free the universe, not enslave it."

Galacta Knight stopped and looked Kirby straight into the eyes.

"The universe is to unite under one and powerful empire. However, there are a few…rogue planets that have yet to accept it. There resistance will cost the rest of the universe if they continue to do so. That is why we must…get rid of the resistance…"

"Empire? What about Nightmare's Empire? If you speak of starting a new one, who will be the one that gets rid of Nightmare, or are you saying that we are _joining _his empire?"

"I never said anything like that," Galacta Knight said, walking straight towards Kirby. "I think you should go back to bed now. Silly little brats like you shouldn't be involved with adult affairs."

Suddenly, all of the bravery that Kirby had earlier when he had tried to stand up for his mother deserted him. He felt weak as Galacta Knight stood over his shaking body.

"You know too much, brat. Let me just silence that mouth of yours for good!"

Galacta Knight snatched a knife out from under his cape and thrust it forward. Jumping back, Kirby barely was able to miss it and he fell to the floor. He swiftly got up and ran behind the large, marble desk as Galacta Knight locked the office doors, letting the metal key click loudly.

"How about we make this easier, you come over here and I will promise not to kill you too slowly."

"Stay away from me!" Kirby shouted as he ducked, dodging the heavy books that Galacta Knight threw at him.

The books clattered to the floor and knocked small trinkets off of the shelves. Kirby grabbed a drawer instinctively pulled it out to use a shield. He watched as a small bottle fell out of it along with several papers, smashing to the floor. On the label, it read 'Cyanide'.

Cyanide was poison.

Yanking other drawers open, Kirby found other bottles with poison within. The bottle labeled 'Strychnine' was the next to break on to the floor as Kirby backed away. These were what Galacta Knight had mixed together to kill Sir Arthur. He looked up to face the White Angel again, now full of fear.

"See what happens when you start getting too involved? You end up being the one to die," Galacta Knight said slowly.

At the other side of the room, there were large glass panels where someone from the living complex of Galacta Knight's could enter the office; however, the doors appeared to be locked. The figure of Clara suddenly appeared and she gasped as she saw the knife that Galacta Knight held and her son in the same room. She pounded against the glass, sobbing out her pleas, which were muffled by the glass. Galacta Knight ignored her and continued to advance towards Kirby. Suddenly, he ran forward and Kirby found his muscles lock into place. He was not strong. He could not fight back.

Everything seemed to slow as Galacta Knight raised his knife. Behind him, a strangely familiar figure stood behind the knight. Kirby's eyes widened as everything returned to him.

White Meta Knight.

The figure looked like a ghost with his pale body and pure white armor and cape, but the reason why he was here was undoubtedly to bring Kirby back to his family. His real family. Memories of his friends, Dreamland, and the Mirror World came back to him. He remembered their quest to find Meta Knight and try to convince him to return to Popstar and of all of the battles they had fought. He remembered the warm embrace of his real father that filled him with security and happiness. Meta Knight's eyes were always warm, although at times, he seemed cold hearted, but Kirby would have traded anything to see him rather than the piercing, icy eyes of Galacta Knight's.

White Meta Knight motioned with his gloves to come to him, but first, Kirby would have to get past Galacta Knight. It seemed that no one else in the room was aware of the white figure besides the pink puffball.

Without thinking, Kirby reached up and grabbed the knife by the blade. Galacta Knight drew back slightly in surprise as he watched the small pink puffball stop the knife from stabbing him to death. Blood dripped down from Kirby's hands as he continued to hold the dagger away from his face. The knight added his strength, making the knife cut into Kirby's hands even more. Suddenly with a great surge of power, Kirby broke the blade of the knife off of the handle. Galacta Knight stared dumbfounded by the move, but Kirby was not about to let this precious time go to waste.

Still holding the knife's blade, Kirby ran towards White Meta Knight and leapt straight into the figure's arms. Suddenly, all of the walls of the room melted away along with Clara and Galacta Knight. The last thing Kirby saw before the room completely disappeared was the shock in the knight's eyes. Turning back to where they were now, Kirby gasped.

White Meta Knight had taken him to a vast place where long, thin streams of light flowed, almost with no direction. He could see bits of places and people, along with strands of conversations within them. They were standing on what looked like thin air, above the endless streams of light.

"W…where are we?"

"We are in the time zone. This is where all of the time streams reside, never crossing over another and going on for eternity," White Meta Knight said. "You must hurry, however. The time stream where you came from is disappearing since the past had been changed. You must find it and correct what had gone wrong. I cannot help you; you must figure out yourself how you will do it."

"But how will I-"

"Hush. I do not have long to explain to you everything. Your wings, Kirby. They do not fly. But do you know why you have them?"

Kirby shook his head, looking at him confused.

"Those wings, you have them to travel through time. Instead of taking you to the skies, they take you to the time zones and its time streams. Had you not had these wings, you would not be standing here. In the form you are in now, they can do nothing else. Do you understand this?"

Kirby did not exactly know what the figure was talking about, but he nodded anyways.

"And remember this, no matter what, do not allow your past self to see you. Either hide yourself, or put some disguise on. Further damage will be made if your past self realizes who you are."

Kirby nodded and glanced around before turning back, only to find that White Meta Knight had disappeared.

"_Now go. Run Kirby, run home."_

Kirby ran. Thoughts wildly swam through his head, but he did not stop. He had to find the one time stream where he belonged. He leapt over the slender tubes of light as he continued to run. He heard the sound of laughter ring in his ears as he ran between two streams that ran side by side. Everywhere, he could hear voices, but none of them seemed to be the one that would take him home.

Running alongside one particularly thin stream, he saw himself fighting Dark Nebula. This had to be the right one. It was barely visible, but it was still there, still hanging on for him to correct everything.

With a great leap, Kirby entered it. He began falling. Kirby could not see where he was going, but all that he knew was that wires and pipes were passing by his face swiftly. Suddenly, he hit face first into a large pile of soot. A cloud of dust rose into the air around him before settling. Lifting his head, he found that the gray powder-like substance covered his entire body, making it appear pure gray. Only his sky blue eyes remained the same.

He stood up and glanced around him. He could hear the battle raging on a few feet above him. Picking his way through the vines of wires, Kirby stepped on to the platform. His other self had his back turned towards him along with the others and Meta had just been lifted off of his feet by Dark Nebula. In just a few moments, the black star would kill his father's younger self, sending him straight back to Galacta Knight again. Kirby shuddered and looked down at the knife he still held in his hands.

The other Kirby was slashing at the wires that held his father down and they suddenly coiled around his wrists. Kirby could still remember the burn from the sharp wires and he instinctively rubbed his wrists. He watched as his own self shouted as he was thrown into the air.

"DAD!"

His other self landed on his wings and he curled up tightly. Meta walked over towards him and helped him up. Dark Nebula got up and turned directly towards them, its single eye fixing itself upon Meta. The other Kirby held out Galaxia and before he could strike, he was roughly swept away by the spider. Kirby watched as his other self skidded across the platform's edge which was covered in a fine layer of blood.

Meta stood there as Dark Nebula reached forward and grabbed him. He was lifted into the air, unable to move as the black star brought him closer to examine.

Kirby gripped the knife in his hand tightly, making more blood flow out from his palms. He had to stop Meta from being killed.

Just as the other Kirby looked up, about to witness the death of his father's younger self, a small, metal object came hurling out of nowhere, going straight through the glass, and stabbing into Dark Nebula with extreme accuracy. He turned around to see a black figure standing behind him with an almost familiar face.

Kirby found himself back looking through the eyes of his regular self, the one not covered in soot and the one with Galaxia. His other self vanished like smoke in the air, leaving no trace of the one who had seen the horrors of the GSA under Galacta Knight's command. He glanced down at the sacred sword before he smiled to himself and leapt into the air.

Dark Nebula was bleeding heavily from the knife that was thrust into it and it involuntarily dropped Meta from its clutches. Trying to see who was it that had attacked it, Dark Nebula turned towards Kirby. Through the red haze that the black star saw the world through, it figured that Kirby had been the one. Moving forwards, Dark Nebula forgot about Meta for the moment and drew its weapons out to fight Kirby. If it could get rid of this pink puffball, the rest of the fight would be easy enough to win.

Kirby stood his ground as the mechanical spider came forth, waving its chainsaws, lasers, and blades above his head. He held Galaxia in a ready position as he opened his wings up more. Still, he did not know how he could call upon his power over time, but he was still determined to try to use it again.

"_Kirby…do not over do it. If you destroy Dark Nebula, your father will die…" _White Meta Knight said from somewhere in his mind.

Kirby bowed his head closer to the floor, moving his feet back to get ready to spring up. Suddenly, Dark Nebula slashed out with all of its force. Kirby saw it coming and flipped through the air. He could feel the wind under him as the black star's metal arms came sweeping directly under him as he turned in the air. He came down flat on his feet and charged forward.

Blade and Bun were both ready and deciding it upon themselves to help their friend, they ran forward to distract Dark Nebula. They cut through many of the cords as they ran, ducking and weaving around the other attacks the spider sent. Kirby was able to make his way directly under the glowing, red glass where Dark Nebula was behind and at the last moment, the black star turned back to see Kirby leaping into the air, cape billowing behind him, shouting out a war cry, and cutting straight through the remnants of the glass. Kirby grabbed Dark Nebula and yanked back as hard as he could. The black star struggled in his hands, trying desperately to stay within the small socket in the machine it had made for itself when he was pried loose. The entire mechanical spider became still before it collapsed into a large heap.

Kirby threw a large piece of scrap metal off of him and stood up. Bun, and Blade ran over to him as Tokkori and the Lola twins came down from where they were watching. They cheered that Dark Nebula had been defeated and Kirby could not help but to laugh with them. Meta shyly stood a few feet away from them but Kirby could see that he had a faint smile on his face.

Suddenly, a loud crack sounded. They all fell silent as they turned towards the source: the platform under them. Then, before any of them could move, the entire ledge broke apart and they all fell down towards the factory's inner workings. Machine parts along with platform parts came tumbling down along with them as they fell. Meta, Tokkori, and the Lola twins came to a halt in midair, as they had the ability to fly as they watched their friends fall.

Kirby turned to see the limp figure of his father, still unmoving. Several wires were still coiled around him, but one by one, they came loose until he was completely free. Kirby shifted his body towards Meta Knight and held him tightly as they passed by a conveyor belt with large machine parts on it. They could hear the pounding of the large weights that slammed down upon the assembly lines, crushing the machines to smaller components before being fed to a large oven-like mechanism. More vats with the molten liquids came past they as they continued to fall. One of them broke apart as the rubble that had fallen from the platform slam into it. The burning hot fluids came pouring down straight towards the group.

Kirby moved to the side again to try to get both him and his father out of the way, but a large drop of it settled onto the tip of his wing. He screamed out as it burned its way through. He let go of Meta Knight from the pain before he crashed into a conveyor line. Before he could look up, a large machine part fell on top of both him and Meta Knight, trapping them under it. He felt all of the air in his lungs get forced out from its heaviness. He tried to push it off of him, but he himself too weak to move it.

Dark Nebula was still in his hands, now with its eye closed. He could still feel it pulse in his grasp. Glancing back where the conveyor belt was moving, Kirby almost gasped in horror.

The conveyor belt was leading straight towards a large arch-like machine where several weights were crushing down material. In a matter of minutes, both he and his father were going to be killed!

Kirby struggled frantically to get himself free along with his father. How at ease Meta Knight looked, completely oblivious to their death. Hot tears ran down Kirby's face as he kept glancing back towards the machine. Even if he could slow time, it would not help them if he could not get the rubble off of them. His friends were somewhere else in the factory, looking for them. By the time they found their lost friends, they will have been already crushed several times over.

Kirby looked at Dark Nebula. He had to get it back into Meta Knight, perhaps, there was still hope.

He held out the black star and reached over towards his father. Placing Dark Nebula on his father's chest, he watched it as it sank into Meta Knight's body. Dark Nebula opened its eye before it vanished, now back where it had been for thousands of years.

Kirby waited. Nothing happened.

"Dad…" He managed to croak out.

Meta Knight did not move at all. His eyes continued to stare up into space, shrouded in his own nightmares.

More tears welled up from Kirby's eyes. It did not work. Meta Knight was forever lost in his own mind, and soon, both of them would be compacted together in a large block, ready to be served into the oven to incinerate.

They drew closer to the weights, now the power of it could easily be felt in the vibrations. Kirby tried to imagine what it would be like—to be crushed to death and never be found by his friends. All of the maturity he had after he had become the GSA leader had left him and he was left as a young pink puffball, crying for his father.

"D…Daddy…" Kirby cried as they came directly under the weights as it rose, ready to come down on them.

Suddenly, Meta Knight's eyes flashed bright gold. The wall of illusions had been shattered as he heard his son's first words. Daddy. The simple word was something he had never forgotten. He had returned to his normal self.

"Kirby…" He murmered.

* * *

**A/N: **Kirby's true power is over time. I thought it would be cool to incorporate a little science fiction into this fic and I decided on time since Meta Knight's kind of already got fire and electricity covered and Galacta Knight has ice and wind. And as White Meta Knight said, Kirby's wings cannot fly. They can only take him through the time zones. If you remember correctly what White Meta Knight said about that, you have a very slight hint of what is to come. It's a very small sentence, that's all I'm going to say. I'm sure most people skipped over it, but then again, there's always _someone _with a keen eye! :)

And we also got to see what the GSA would have been like under Galacta Knight. I had to do a little research on different types of poisons to find good words to put in. Poor Sir Arthur, Galacta Knight ended up poisoning him and murdering the rest of the commanders to frame Sgt. Kit Cosmos, all of it only to get full control over the troops.

I am afraid that some parts may have gotten a little confusing, especially when the story overlapped with an earlier part. I really despise having to say 'the other Kirby' and 'Kirby' together. I hope you readers were still able to follow along!

Kirby and Meta Knight are about to be crushed to death. Meta Knight is back to his regular self, but will he be able to save them?

Please review!


	14. Chapter XIV: Message on a Feather

**A/N: The long awaited chapter fourteen of Beyond the Mirror has arrived. I apologize for being such a slacker but it's not like I forgot about this story or anything. I had all of my ideas laid out but wasn't happy with how it was presented. This chapter took a lot longer than expected. I apologize for the wait.**

I also wanted to present a good quality of a chapter rather than rushing it and totally disappointing everyone. I believe in overall quality even if it means frustrating people for delaying the update for so long.

Kirby now realizes the importance of keeping his father's younger self alive after seeing what it was like to have Galacta Knight as a father as well as the leader of the GSA. And like what White Meta Knight said, Meta was not supposed to have been in the future because if he somehow died before being returned to his own time, the past will change completely. If Kirby was to be pulled back to where Galacta Knight is the GSA leader, the White Angel will finish him off for good this time.

Meta Knight is back to normal and right now, both he and Kirby are directly under a large compactor, ready to come down on them. I finally found a better word than 'weight'. It actually sounds better and it better describes what in the world I was talking about! XD

We are also drawing to a close in this story. Won't be long to the last chapter! Ugh...I still am not happy with this chapter...

**Disclaimer: **Cosmicgiraffe does not own any of the characters besides her OCs. If she did, she would be laughing madly like Meta Knight was a few chapters ago. :D

**--Chapter 14: Message on a Feather--**

Kirby's sky blue eyes widened as he watched his father's hand shot up to stop the compactor just as it came down. Its rusty bottom scratched his face but slowly, it began to lift back up to Meta Knight's unnatural strength granted to him by Nightmare. The Black Angel's eyes were pure white now as he held up the compactor with one hand and the other pushing the heavy mechanical parts off both himself and his son. His arm shook from the pressure and the wounds on his body reopened, allowing fresh blood to stream down his arms and wings.

"Kirby…get…out!" He grunted as he raised the compactor all the way over his head to allow room for Kirby to escape.

He got up and quickly stepped out from underneath it, followed by Meta Knight a few moments later after he wedged a sturdy, iron bar into the conveyor belt's large gears. It gave a horrible screech before both the compactor and conveyor line came to a halt.

Meta Knight staggered out towards Kirby before collapsing to his hands, breathing heavily.

"Dad!"

Kirby rushed to his side and looked at his father before he gave a small gasp. His father's eyes were restored to their usual gold, but they were still clouded. They appeared, however, to gradually clear up. He still seemed dazed.

"Kirby…I…I can't see anything…Kirby!"

Kirby placed his hand on his father's glove to let him know where he was. Meta Knight's panicked expression calmed down slightly.

"I…I couldn't tell what was real or fake anymore…I…thought that…I murdered both you and your mother…I don't ever want to lose either of you ever again…I—"

"Dad, it's okay," Kirby interrupted. "I'm still here and so is Mom. Just…just relax and lay on your back. You're bleeding."

"We are _all _covered in blood and wounds," Meta Knight said grimly. "I can do just fine. Help me stand."

It was true, Kirby had to admit. Not one member of the group was _not _scarred, wounded in some way, cut, or covered in dried blood. Once they returned to Dreamland, they would probably be unrecognizable. Still, he was not going to let his father injure himself any further.

"Dad, no. You need to lie down."

Finally after much protesting, Meta Knight relented and leaned back against a large gas tank to recover. Like what Kirby predicted, his eyes slowly became less and less cloudy, but he still appeared unable to see anything. He sat down next to his father and looked him over. Meta Knight's wings limply sagged down at his sides, heavily bleeding in several places where the thin membrane had torn.

Kirby took off his cape and carefully pressed it up against the wounds, causing Meta Knight to flinch in pain.

"I'm fine, Kirby. Please…"

"But Dad, your wings…"

"Leave it," Meta Knight said stubbornly. "Don't waste the little time you and the others have left on me."

The thought about the hourglass made Kirby stop. So much time had been used up to get his father back to normal and to fight Dark Nebula. Time was not on their side as of now.

"Do…do you know how much sand is left in the hourglass?" Meta Knight asked.

"Still quite a bit," Kirby lied, not wanting his father to panic.

Meta Knight let out his breath and relaxed slightly. They said nothing for a while, waiting for the Black Angel's eyes to recover when he spoke again.

"Kirby, I want you to understand, I _cannot_ leave the Mirror World. I've said this before, correct?"

Kirby looked at him in surprise. His father had read exactly what had been on his mind and he slowly nodded, although he remembered his father couldn't see him.

"Yes."

"I have to stay here in the Mirror World because the moment I leave, the land I created for my people with my mind would cease to exist and even I do not know what would happen to all of the demonbeasts. And besides, now that I have taken up position to lead them, I must serve my duties. You do realize that it's just as difficult for me as for you and your mother, right?"

"But we came all the way here to the Mirror World just to convince_ you_ to come back!" Kirby burst out. "Think of Sword, Wolfwrath, and Knuckle Joe! They all died just for you to decide to stay here. Couldn't you just bring all of the demonbeasts back? I'm sure we can work out something with the Cappies!"

Meta Knight shook his head.

"Kirby, haven't already told you? My kind isn't welcome in the Dimensional World. No amount of apologies is going to receive the universe's forgiveness for all of the destruction caused by demonbeasts. I understand their anger; I understand that to keep my people safe, I had to leave."

"But what about-"

"Hush, Kirby. You know well enough that this conversation is not getting us anywhere. I've already explained everything."

Kirby's body trembled slightly. He could not believe it. After everything they had gone through, his father still would not come back. Would this be the last time he would ever see him?"

Meta Knight's tone softened considerably as he read Kirby's thoughts.

"It won't be the last time, Kirby. I promise both you and your mother that whenever you two wish, I'll open the gates to the Mirror World. I had originally planned to have all of my demonbeasts settled before I would contact either of you; I suppose though, that once Nova came, Clara did not see any other path to find me again. Had I opened the gates to the Mirror World instead, none of you would have been under the pressure of the hourglass."

"But why is that? Why couldn't Nova just not made it that way?"

Meta Knight sighed a little.

"Nova cannot keep the gate open forever you know. It would have to close eventually. As of now, that isn't important. Let me get up. I can see now."

"Wait. How many cuts do I have on my face?" Kirby questioned as a test.

"Six," Meta Knight said tiredly.

Finally receiving Kirby's approval, he stood up, using the gas tank to support him.

"Unh…I feel like I have a headache…" Meta Knight said as he raised a glove to his head.

A voice laughed coldly above them.

"You'll soon be feeling a lot worse when you have no head to speak of!"

Meta Knight snapped alert and drew Kirby close to him under his wings, glancing around the machine filled area. Kirby could feel his father tense up as the voice came again.

"You look considerably well in respect to that little nap you took…"

Meta Knight did not say anything but the speaker received his desired response. A low hiss escaped from under Meta Knight's mask as his bat wings flared up defensively.

"Time's running out for you Meta-K02. It's time to face what you've been running from for hundreds of years."

Suddenly, a large, shadowy sphere formed in the air before them, materializing to form Dark Meta Knight's figure, appearing at its center with a crackle of energy. He landed neatly on the conveyor belt and looked up to face Meta Knight and Kirby. His snake-like eyes narrowed as they fell across Meta Knight. His cape glided behind him almost in a hypnotizing way, like the swaying of a cobra as he came forth. Kirby could feel his father tighten his arms around him.

"Kirby, if you please, step aside," Dark Meta Knight said smoothly as he drew his sword, pointing its tip directly at Meta Knight. "I have business to deal with."

Kirby reached for Galaxia. There was no way he was going to back out only to let his father get killed. Just as his hand closed around the sacred sword's hilt, he felt Meta Knight lightly push him away.

"Kirby…this…this isn't your battle to fight," He said quietly.

Kirby felt his body freeze up as he watched Meta Knight silently step forward, as if walking towards death itself. He drew his sword and its glint caught the shine of light that streamed down from the shattered ceiling. Kirby could see his own reflection in his father's sword.

"Dad…no…" He cried out hoarsely.

The two knights walked forward and tapped their swords together, accepting the challenge by the other. Then, both closed their eyes, drawing their sword up to their face. Kirby watched as they stood completely still for a long time, and the air around them seemed to become still. Suddenly, ripples of energy tore around them. It appeared that all matter surrounding them was bending to the will of the two knights. Kirby watched with widened eyes as the conveyor belt under him seemed to liquefy and sway like the waves of a raging ocean.

He looked up as both Meta Knight and his darker self opened their eyes and charged forwards. Their swords met, locking into position as they struck out at the other. Their footwork was light and neat as they moved up the conveyor line. Each of Meta Knight's strokes was steady with precision while his counterpart had quick but powerful slashes. Dark Meta Knight feinted to the left and with a sudden twist of his wrist, he thrust his sword forward. His opponent leapt back, blade cutting through the air less than an inch away from his eyes. Meta Knight ducked under the next vicious sword slash and kicked out at his darker side with all of his force. His blow knocked Dark Meta Knight back over and looking up, the Dark One raised his jagged sword to block Meta Knight's furious attacks. Flipping back on to his feet, Dark Meta Knight drove Meta Knight against the rusty walls at the conveyor belts side.

Meta Knight gasped out in pain as Dark Meta Knight suddenly raised his fist and punched him hard. His head slammed back into the wall as he tried to block the next attacks. Dark Meta Knight smirked from under his scarred mask as he drew his hand back and let out a powerful blow. Meta Knight flew back, landing painfully on his wings. Raising his head, he moved to slash out when Dark Meta Knight struck out suddenly with his sword, slicing a deep cut through Meta Knight's sword arm. Blood seeped out as he quickly switched hands, bringing his sword to his left glove. It was not until a moment later did Meta Knight realize his mistake. He had trained to use his left arm only a few times under instruction by Sgt. Kit Cosmos back in the GSA and never had he thought that it would be of great importance to be strong in both arms. Dark Meta Knight had easily gained the advantage of the battle from it and soon, Meta Knight's gloves and armor were stained with his own blood.

He winced as more strikes landed across his body as he weakly blocked as many as he could. Having no opportunity to switch back, Meta Knight was forced to continue using his left hand as Dark Meta Knight drove him towards the compactor.

Dark Meta Knight charged forward and slammed his sword down, sending a wide sword beam tearing through the conveyor belt. Meta Knight turned just as the entire belt rippled as it came through. He was thrown against the wall, feeling a few of the frail bones in his wings snap under him. Getting up, he ran. He could not fight his own darker self. Dark Meta Knight was too powerful. He was fighting a battle he could not win by himself. Death was waiting for him to finally collapse dead.

"Stop running away like a child and face me like a man!" Dark Meta Knight called after him as he bounded up across a large stack of metal barrels on the platform and on to a ledge overlooking the conveyor lines.

Turning to a large control panel, he flicked on a few switches and pulled back on the large lever. Almost immediately, the entire factory came to life as the main core started up. The cogs that kept the conveyor belts moving began to turn faster along with the compactors and shredders all around the room. Lines securing vats of bubbling molten lava-like fluids came overhead, threatening to crack any moment and allow all of its contents to spill out.

Kirby fell back as the platform under him gave away and he leapt forward just in time to catch the edge of the conveyor belt before he was in mid air. The metal platform toppled over several other conveyor lines before vanishing to the darkness below. Pulling himself up, he glanced up as Dark Meta Knight tore the lever out from its socket, preventing anyone from stopping the machines. Then, the Dark One jumped down on to the conveyor belt behind Meta Knight and continued the battle.

Meta Knight stopped running to face his darker self, drawing his sword slowly. Kirby could see something that he rarely ever saw in his father: fear. Dark Meta Knight did not turn but he laughed out.

"So you finally see for what this fraud is? There is no Sir Meta Knight, he's a made up figure that never existed. Your father is and has only been Meta-K02, Prince of Demonbeasts."

He charged forward and struck out at Meta Knight, slashing his sword across the Black Angel's gold eyes. He collapsed and through a thin screen of red, Meta Knight glared at his darker self. Struggling to get back on his feet, he held his sword out in front of him with both hands. Dark Meta Knight watched him in amusement before striking him again, this time along his wings. Then, he stepped down on Meta Knight's throat, applying all of his force down to keep him there.

Meta Knight gasped out for breath as the two came closer to the large shredder that loomed overhead, tearing and ripping apart all in its way. The grinding of metal was louder now that it filled their heads. Tilting Meta Knight's head back, Dark Meta Knight pinned him down firmly to the conveyor belt, headfirst towards the large, rusted blades.

Meta Knight kicked and struggled, desperately trying to shake the Dark One off of him and escape. His sword had been kicked away from him, out of reach and his arms were too weak. He closed his eyes, trying to reach out with his mind flow but found no trace of it. It had deserted him along with his darker self.

"Hear that? It is the sound of death…your death that is. Hear the blades churn, all calling your name," Dark Meta Knight said quietly.

Meta Knight stopped struggling to look back towards the shredders, heart beating wildly with every inch they came towards it.

"You won't slip out of my grasp this time, this time, I will see your flesh tear, hear you scream out, and to feel your blood soak into the shadows. Have any last words?"

With a final burst of strength, Meta Knight threw Dark Meta Knight off of him, stood up, grabbed his sword, and leapt over the side of the conveyor belt just as the blades came down on where he had been only seconds ago. Dark Meta Knight curled his gloves into fists as he wiped the thin stream of blood off the corner of his mask and pursued Meta Knight, leaping over the side of the conveyor belt and elegantly landing on the next conveyor belt.

Kirby jumped on to the moving line in attempt to help his father when he looked down at the mess below him. All sorts of contraptions were lined up at the sides of the conveyor belt. Several compactors were lined up with little space between them, all slamming down at the same time. The ridges of the belt were lined with sharp blades that ground up material before it burned to ash under the intense heat of the fire that shot out every so often.

His father had walked straight into a death trap.

Like an out of control treadmill, the conveyor line moved so fast that both knights had to run as fast as they could to keep from being killed. Kirby could see that it would only be a matter of time before his father would drop from running against the flow of the conveyor belt. Meta Knight turned just as fire spurted out from a small hole at the side, narrowly incinerating his wings. He jumped over the large roller topped with spikes as it came through the piles of mechanical parts and flattened them out. Dark Meta Knight was in the air, flapping his wings with little energy, watching Meta Knight tire himself.

Kirby turned back and ran towards the metal barrels. He clambered up on to them and finally hefted himself on to the platform with the control panel. He glanced at the broken lever. Kirby pressed a few buttons, trying to find a way to stop it when he heard the sounds of electricity crackling. Looking down, he gasped as he watched the thin wires bordering the conveyor belt the two fighting knights were on light up with electricity. One piece of scrap metal scraped up against it and immediately, the entire piece was zapped up. Meta Knight flinched back as the energy crackled around him and to Kirby's horror; he tripped, heading straight towards the rows of shredders and compactors.

* * *

The rest of the group stood in a tight defensive ring as they made their way through the dark factory ground level. Barely any light reached where they were and only the faint glow of Kamira, Jecra, Garlude, Sir Arthur, and SailorDee showed the path.

"Stay together," Kamira murmured with a barely audible voice. "They're coming."

"Who?" Bun croaked out.

Almost as soon as he said it, the group saw them. They were completely surrounded by small, glowing eyes. The figures stayed a distance away to avoid the light from the spirits but their eyes gave away their movements. Not once did the figures blink nor take their eyes off of the group. Bun shuddered, holding his sword tightly in his sweaty hands.

They had followed the sound of the battle in the distance and had ended up finding their scattered friends along with Clara whose body looked so weak and frail she could hardly walk. Sirica helped keep her upright as they made their way but now, Sirica had to keep one hand open for her gun while she propped the puffball up.

Meta watched as the small, yellow and green haired boy, the white haired girl, and the armored one keep their weapons out at the ready. He still did not know who all of them were. Everything around him was confusing, especially from how all the others knew his name while he knew only a few of them. Inside, he was still afraid of these strangers, but he dreaded being alone.

He watched as the dark, shadowy figures scurried in a weaving motion between the large computers and gas tanks that lay forgotten on the factory floor. He could feel the intense energy that it took to create every last one of the figures.

Dark energy.

The only other time he had seen anything created with such power was when he watched Nightmare create new demonbeasts. Did Nightmare create these ones? They did not appear to have been. Meta could not sense the minds of any of them.

Suddenly, they all stopped, staring intently at the group. Sir Arthur gave an order and the group tightened their circle while Dedede drew his hammer out. Escargon shivered as the figures silently came forwards.

"_Everyone! Don't move, don't say anything!" _Garlude said through their minds_. "Hold your breath too!"_

Each of the living members of the group immediately sucked in their breath and held still, not daring to move. The figures stopped, as if perplexed why they suddenly could no longer feel the tense breathing of their prey. Nothing stirred for a full minute. Through the corner of his eye, Jecra could see that the living group members were struggling to hold their breath. Bun and Dedede looked about ready to gasp out any moment.

"_You can do it!" _He said, trying to encourage them.

The figures crept forward, slowly inching their shadowy forms towards what they assumed were the easiest targets. Bun was shaking vigorously in fear as one particularly large one weaved past his face. His heart beated violently in his chest and he felt his sword slowly slip out of his sweaty grip. Suddenly, a loud clatter sounded as the blade struck the floor, its ring echoing throughout the darkness. Bun gasped out before he clamped his mouth shut with both hands as he realized he had moved.

All at once, the creatures leapt out from the darkness, snapping their jaws in the air. Sirica aimed and fired her gun, giving no mercy to the monsters as Bun grabbed his sword and joined Blade as he slashed out at the advancing foes. The figures dematerialized as the bullets passed through them and behind them, the metal walls filled with bullet holes.

"Th…that's not possible!" She gasped out, firing more.

Dedede swept his mallet over the heads of the others to knock away another shadowy figure that came attacking. Its body broke apart as it slammed into the walls before it reformed itself, turning straight towards Dedede. The penguin met its claws with his hammer. Its back legs tore through his robes, up towards his throat before he threw it off of him with the flat end of his hammer.

"Look out!" Blade shouted.

Dedede turned just as one leapt out from behind him. It knocked him to the ground, slamming his head down against the cold floor as it ripped the rest of his robe to shreds. It raised its dripping mouth before it thrust it downwards in a killing strike. Dedede twisted his head painfully, missing its bite before with all of his strength, pushed its heavy body off of him. As it looked up to attack again, he raised his hammer and slammed it into it.

It struck against the other shadow monsters, creating a wide gap towards a lone elevator lift where a thin stream of light shone down on it like a beacon. SailorDee pointed urgently towards it and the group all turned to each other, nodded, and as a battering ram, charged their way through the rest of the monsters, hacking and slashing their way through.

Clara fell out of step behind the others, unable to keep up. She and Escargon both became further and further away from the others as the monsters came up behind them. With a wide sweep of his arms, Dedede snatched both of them up, taking them under each of his arms, pulling them away just as the figures closed the gap behind them.

Lololo and Lalala were the first to reach the lift and they flew over to the old control box. Together, they grabbed the crank and began wildly turning it. The rest of the group jumped on as the lift jerked upwards, knocking them all off their feet before it ascended up. They sat on the ground, trying to catch their breath as the platform rose higher than any of the creatures could reach. Over the edge, Blade looked down to see a sea of glowing eyes, all staring intently at him, making him shudder and pull himself back towards the others.

For a moment, they looked at each other with tired smiles on their faces in a silent triumph. Dedede let go of Clara and Escargon before lying down on his back. Clara carefully made her way over to the railing as of not to cause any sudden pain attacks before she let out her breath. The only sound was Lololo and Lalala turning the large crank and the elevator lift slowly making its way back to the main levels of the factory.

Then suddenly, the entire elevator slammed against the wall, throwing everyone to the far end of the platform. Loud scratching sounds grinded across the metal as the one shadow monster that had leapt on to the back of the others to catch the edge of the elevator lift, climbed up on to the platform.

Clara cried out as it clawed its way forwards towards her. Desperately hanging on to the railing for support, she stood up, backing away into the dented metal. Lololo and Lalala were going to help her when almost the exact moment their hands left the lift's crank; it slipped and fell back towards the darkness. They grabbed it, using their full force to keep it from slipping any further.

The monster bent its head lower, eye staring at Clara. Then, it raised its body and slammed down on the railing. The weak structure broke off and Clara screamed as she fell back out into open air. Grabbing the railings, she clung to it as her feet hung over the darkness. Then, a small object fell out of her hands. She turned back to watch the hourglass fall straight towards the large gears on the wall, the gears that lifted the elevator towards the light. She gasped out as it tinkled against the hard metal, barely weaving in between its crushing force, plunging down further.

Tokkori turned to see the bright object. The world around him receded into silence; the only sound he could hear was the sound of the hourglass. The moment the hourglass broke between the ridges of the gears, the sand would spill out and each one of them would suddenly vanish from the Mirror World, never to see either of the two worlds ever again.

Time seemed to slow around him and as he looked up, he saw a white figure standing on a ledge in the darkness: White Meta Knight. His white cape flowed behind him smoothly like ripples in a calm lake, almost appearing to glow brightly.

"_Save the souls of your friends, Tokkori," He_ said through the bird's mind.

Tokkori blinked as he watched his wings unfold and he flew downwards like a pin cutting through the air. Faster and faster he went, making everything a blur around him. His body seemed to move without his mind telling him to.

Just as he reached for the hourglass, it bounced off another gear, dangerously tapping in between the closing gaps of the machine parts. Tokkori flew forward, tilting his body to squeeze himself through. Landing on the top of one gear, he hopped out of the way just as the one above it came down on where he had stood only moments before. He could feel beads of sweat form on his head as he made his way towards the hourglass. Any moment, the fragile glass could break and the sands would empty out even faster until not one grain of sand was left.

Tokkori looked up just as the gears rolled away, creating a large gap straight towards the hourglass. Seizing his chance, the little yellow bird, never well liked by any of the Dreamlanders, snatched up the hourglass and burst out of the maze of gears. He hovered in the air for a moment; almost stunned by that he managed to save himself and all of his friends from falling into the Void, before the sounds of battle returned him to reality.

Bun ran forth, drawing his sword. The monster turned around, rearing on to its hind legs to attack when his sword stabbed into its chest. Its eye seemed to widen as it clutched the blade, struggling to pull it out before it slowly collapsed, disappearing in a wave of smoke. Bun sank to the floor; gasping out, body shaking as his sword slid out of his hands with a loud clatter.

"I…I…"

"Bun!" Blade said as he ran over to the boy. "Are you okay?"

"Step away from him," Sir Arthur ordered. "It's battle shock. This marks his first kill as a warrior. I've seen many young shoulders go into shock straight after killing for the first time. He'll be okay, just let him rest."

Tokkori landed on the platform, holding the hourglass above his head in triumph. He set it down next to Clara who picked it up carefully in her hands.

"T…thank…you Tokkori…"

The little bird's chest swelled up with pride. Clara brushed lightly under his beak.

"B…brave acts…like that earn m…medals of honor among…the Star Warriors."

Lololo and Lalala gave a final turn and the elevator came to a halt. The group had to blink to adjust their eyes to the brighter surroundings. They could hear the sounds of sword against sword closer now. Running off the elevator lift, the two twins, on the count of three, let go of the crank. The elevator's line snapped and the chains, as well as the entire platform, disappeared into the darkness without a trace.

Blade dragged Bun back on to his feet. His body was no longer shaking but he said nothing. Suddenly, they heard a shout that got them all alert.

"Someone help!" Kirby shouted.

* * *

The group ran out back to the ledge overlooking the conveyor belts to see Meta Knight getting back on to his feet and running for his life. Now the sharp blades of the shredder were less than a yard away from him. He ran on, not daring to breathe as scrap metal was grinded up behind him. His wings were shreds of bloody strips. Dark Meta Knight stood on a ledge above it, foot on a large lever that increased the speed or the conveyor belt like a treadmill. The others could see that Meta Knight could not last much longer. He did not have the ability to fly on to another ledge. All of his powers were gone, now in the hands of his darker self.

Kirby turned to Escargon.

"You have to stop the conveyor belt now!"

Escargon took a step back.

"Me?! Why do you look at me? I can't stop that death machine! I'm sorry but your father's done for!"

Kirby looked at the snail, to shocked to speak. Kamira floated directly in front of Escargon.

"You aren't going to back down now. I'm going to help you. Now get moving!"

Escargon looked at the spirit, over to Meta Knight, and then finally the control panel. He opened it up, releasing a cloud of black smoke. He coughed and wheezed, wanting to turn around back to the others but Kamira stopped him with a fierce glare.

He opened up the compartment wider until the rest of the smoke cleared to reveal the mess of frayed wires. The entire compartment was almost completely blocked by a wall of the thin wires, some releasing sparks. Escargon backed up.

"That's WAY beyond fixing! You can't possibly expect me to rewire them all to stop it!"

"You don't need to. I can see right now the wires that you're going to have to cut and the wires that you have to reconnect," Kamira said, looking over his shoulder. "You do realize that I was a mechanic when I was still alive, right?"

"So why don't _you_ fix it?"

Kamira held up her transparent hands and without even the need to answer the question, Escargon realized why: she no longer had the hands to touch solid materials.

The others watched as she directed the snail, making quick progress. Sirica handed her knife to Escargon and he sliced through many of the wires, receiving a few electrical shocks. Working together, Escargon and Kamira shut off the machines, one by one as Dark Meta Knight looked up, hissing under his mask.

With the last wire, the entire conveyor belt came to a halt and Meta Knight collapsed, gasping out in exhaustion. Lifting up his mask, he coughed out blood as his eyes flashed red towards Dark Meta Knight. His darker self turned back to him, stepping down on to the conveyor belt.

"You'd be nothing if you didn't have your friends. Actually…you'd be first the shredded remains of a coward and then the ashes of one. I stand corrected."

Meta Knight drew his sword out weakly, facing his darker self.

"You only have the advantage because you've taken everything from me."

"Oh really? Would giving you back your powers _really_ change a thing?"

Meta Knight did not say anything but continued his cold glare.

"I think not. I think it is because you are fighting your own self. Your dark side is too powerful for even you to control. You try to deny it, but face it, you're a coward."

"I deny nothing!" Meta Knight shouted back.

Dark Meta Knight let out a deep chuckle.

"Let's see you deny your worse fears!" He said, jumping into the air.

The others gasped as he began to change form. His body disappeared into a veil of shadows, the silhouette of his new form growing. Then, with a sudden wave, Dark Meta Knight appeared, this time as Nightmare, Emperor of Darkness.

They watched as Meta Knight began to tremble, not wildly at first. He took a step back as Nightmare's shadow engulfed him.

"You say you have no fears…yet you fear your creator," Dark Meta Knight said through Nightmare's voice. "You feared punishment from him for all of your failures…how sad…how cowardly…"

"You take that back!" Meta Knight shouted, standing up and charging forward.

Dark Meta Knight transformed, this time taking a form that made everyone gasp. The copy of Clara smirked as Meta Knight came to a halt.

"T…this should…be interesting…" Dark Meta Knight said through Clara's voice.

Meta Knight was defencless as the figure of his wife leapt forward and struck him across the face. He slammed back into the conveyor belt, landing on his wings. Dark Meta Knight struck him over and over again, using Clara's laughter. The real Clara up above on the ledge could do nothing but watch her husband get beaten up by a copy of herself.

"Sir! That's not Clara! You have to fight back!" Blade shouted down.

Meta Knight got up, dodging the blows but not fighting back. Although he knew that the figure before him was a fake, he could not bring himself to strike back. Dark Meta Knight yanked out a sharp piece of metal from the rubble piles and holding it like a knife, he laughed again.

On the ledge, Bun could see that Meta Knight was not going to have the chance to defend himself. Grabbing a large piece of coal, Bun came up to the edge of the platform and threw it as hard as he could. It struck Dark Meta Knight, forcing him to change back to his original form. He shot up a glare at Bun before he turned back, drawing his sword out.

The two knights jumped off of the conveyor belt and landed on the large, turning cogs on the sides of the belt. Swerving in between spokes of the wheel, they continued their sword battle, jumping out of the way to avoid being crushed to death by them.

Meta Knight glanced up and leapt off of the cogs just as the part he was standing on was crushed by the cog above it. He managed to land on his feet and Dark Meta Knight landed before him. They now stood on the floors of the factory where a small open area was the set battle scene.

Dark Meta Knight threw his sword away and flexed his hands. Then, he raised his hand as energy rippled around him. Meta Knight was suddenly thrust into the air, choking and gasping for breath. His sword clattered to the ground loudly. He coughed out, blood flowing down from his mask. Dark Meta Knight tightened his gloves into fists and Meta Knight wretched out more blood.

Slowly, Dark Meta Knight waved his hand and Meta Knight was forced against a large metal gas tank. Then like a rag, he was rubbed across it, smearing his blood upon it.

Finally, he released his power and watched as Meta Knight sank to the ground, gasping for air in between coughing out blood. He transformed into Galacta Knight's form, making Meta Knight's eyes flash red. Dark Meta Knight looked over his new form, admiring the great strength he now had.

Waving his hand, wires and computer parts suddenly began attaching themselves together around his body. The parts of two large car engines secured themselves on his back while a large glass shield came down over his face, bolting itself down. Two large mechanical arms formed, wiring themselves to the figure of Galacta Knight's arms and he drew out his new gun, all loaded up with the power of a machine gun. Now standing like a robot from some comic, Dark Meta Knight looked down at Meta Knight, aiming the gun straight at his body.

"You chose such a hard way to die. This is it. Farewell…Meta-K02, Prince of Demonbeasts."

Kirby cried out as he watched Dark Meta Knight pull the trigger and his father sway before collapsing to the floor, sea of dark red pooling around him. The sounds of Meta Knight's armor against the steel floor rang through the deathly silence, echoing throughout the factory ruins. Dark Meta Knight quietly walked away from the scene, disappearing into the shadows. Kirby could feel his triumph in the air as he rushed to his father's side. Clara ran forwards as well, one frail hand over her mouth. She clutched Meta Knight, shaking him slightly.

"Meta Knight!"

The Black Angel's eyes looked up softly into her pale blue eyes. His hand slowly reached forwards to run along her cheeks, leaving a trail of blood on her face. Clara held his hand to her face, tears flowing down from her eyes.

"C…Cl…Cl…ara…" He said slowly, choking on his own blood.

Kirby watched as his father's hands drop, limply sprawled at his side. It was at that moment did Clara burst out. She screamed out his name, over and over again. Meta Knight's eyes turned to Kirby one last time before he closed them as they clouded over. His chest rose with his final breath and then, he was gone.

Kirby opened his mouth but not one sound came out. He could not comprehend the feelings and thoughts that ran through his head. He had failed. But then again, there had been no way he would have been able to stop Dark Meta Knight digging his father's grave.

He stood up slowly, heart taking a great effort to keep the steady beat of a metronome. Had he been standing in front of a mirror, Kirby would have been able to see why the others backed away: his body, though almost at a relaxed posture, gripped Galaxia so tightly that his hands were turning white. His eyes were serious, like sky blue flames.

At first, nothing seemed better than to get revenge on Dark Meta Knight. It slowly coaxed him, to lose control and kill Dark Meta Knight. He wanted to see the Dark One die how his own father did, to die painfully with blood tainting Galaxia. Then, everything began to slow around him. Meta watched with wide eyes as he too was pulled into the Time Zone. The others turned to petrified figures and mists began to form around them.

Kirby closed and opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by the time streams. Meta stood a few feet away from him, looking around in astonishment. They stopped a few feet away from one time stream and looked into it. Kirby watched himself as he and the others flew on Meta Knight's back to the Bay Village and from there to the mountains. He watched the battles unfold before him along with the deaths of Sword, Wolfwrath, Knuckle Joe, and finally his father, the most painful one to watch.

_Kirby…_

Kirby looked around, searching for the speaker. It was not White Meta Knight's voice but surprisingly his own.

_Kirby…why do you seek vengeance when your father's death never had to happen in the first place?_

Kirby stopped. He did not understand what the voice was trying to say to him.

_You are the Half Angel, the one between the White and Black Angels of the Prophecy. You have power over time…would it be more than easy to simply wipe what happened to your father out of your time stream?_

"_Who are you?" _Kirby called out with his mind. _"What do you mean?"_

_You could simply make your father's death something that never happened…you are more powerful than both the White and Black Angels, Kirby. You don't have to be troubled by death…you miss Sword, Wolfwrath, and Knuckle Joe? They never had to die in the first place. You can change that. By going back into the past, you can change everything to what you see fit. Don't you see, Kirby? Nothing can stop you…_

Kirby thought over what the voice said. Never before in his life had he ever felt as powerful as he did now. None of his friends had to die, they could all be saved!

_And what about Kamira, Sir Arthur, SailorDee, or even Jecra and Garlude? None of them had to die. You can stop their deaths from ever happening…_

For a moment, Kirby could not hear the voice. He was too lost in his own thoughts to hear. A strange smile formed on his face, stretching wider than normal. Galaxia glowed in his hands as his deep desire of power and control reached down into his heart, coating it like a smooth black paint.

_You can even change your father to come back with you, to forget about his selfishness and to be with you and your mother…you can make him into what you want him to be…you can make EVERYONE the way you want. You don't like Nightmare? Get rid of him! You can change the past so that he never even existed. Think about it Kirby…you can change the universe the way you want it to be. All you have to do Kirby, is come to me…_

His body moved without even thinking to do so towards the time stream he and Meta just came out of. The light blue glow shone brightly as figures moved about within the stream. Kirby's eyes were now films of red as he reached out.

_Everything you ever thought was wrong, Kirby, can be changed…_

Kirby's grin only widened, now highly resembling Nightmare's grin. He could already imagine himself and his father back in Dreamland and everyone was happy. He would make the GSA soldiers along with the Cappies to accept the demonbeasts back into Popstar. Everyone and everything were his pawns, useless pieces across a chessboard. None of them could stop him.

"Stop!"

Kirby's hand was held in midair by the glove of White Meta Knight. Kirby's eyes narrowed. White Meta Knight…_he _was the evil one! He was trying to stop him from saving his friends and making things right for the entire universe. Kirby forced his hand away from the fading figure and drew Galaxia, pointing its tip directly into his face.

"Kirby," White Meta Knight said with the same calmness he always had, which irritated Kirby. "Do you realize what possessed you?"

"Why are you stopping me? I'm trying to help everyone!" Kirby shouted.

"Look at yourself in the mirror, Kirby. Tell me…tell me what you see." White Meta Knight replied, suddenly holding out a mirror in front of him.

Kirby gasped in horror. The deep, bloody red in his eyes melted away, restoring to the light blue. He had turned to a monster without knowing it. He slowly sank to the ground, tears flowing from his eyes. Meta stood watching him as he turned back up to White Meta Knight.

"I…I only wanted to get my Dad back…"

"I understand. However, your innocent wish for your father to come back was shrouded in the deeper desires, although none of them something you would have ever even think of, consumed you. While you may have brought back your friends and placed them into a happier life, you would soon use your powers to control the universe, to make it into your slave. Hold still Kirby."

Kirby watched as White Meta Knight placed a glove over his forehead and murmured in a barely audible voice.

"Be gone, spirit of hate. Leave thy son's heart pure, untainted by thy impurities…"

Kirby gasped out as his body began to throb and twitch when suddenly, a dark form pulled itself free from Kirby's body. It drifted into the air, gazing back at the three with its small, glowing eyes before shooting out towards the other streams, searching for a weaker soul to consume.

"W…What was that?" Kirby choked out.

"Spirits of hate," White Meta Knight said. "This is what Dark Meta Knight was made with. This is what spoke to you, luring you to let yourself lose its control…"

"But why…why couldn't I try to save my friends and help the universe?"

"The spirit failed to mention that for some of your friends, it would be nearly impossible to save, especially for Jecra and Garlude. They had been dead for a long time and too many events happened after their death. For them, it is too late to try. You would have to ensure that after you erased their death from history, there are no drastic changes in the future because of that. It is possible that another event never would have happened or someone else died in their place. Do you understand this?"

Kirby nodded slowly. It was beginning to become clear—he would spend the rest of time trying to clear off the chain events that happened because of the deaths.

"Also, had you let yourself destroy Nightmare, you would have broken the balance between light and dark. Without light, there is no darkness, and without darkness, there is no light. Nightmare was also the one to bring existence to the universe. He was the ruler of the emptiness. He created everything in the universe and later your father. By wiping him out of existence, you would have destroyed the universe and yourself. Your powers, Kirby, are not to be used idly. You hold power that by far, out matches anyone who has ever lived before."

"So am I really the Half Angel?"

"Yes. You have both the blood of Meta Knight and Galacta Knight's ancestors, making you the one between them."

Kirby was speechless for a long while before spoke again.

"Can I still save my father?"

"Yes, with the right changes in the past, he can be saved. However, if you make the wrong decisions, he could have died a much worse death."

"But what am I supposed to do? To get him back?"

"That is a question even I do not know the answer to," White Meta Knight said slowly. "I am fading away. You will have to decide for yourself the path you will take."

Kirby reached forward, only to find that his hand passed straight through White Meta Knight's hand as if it was nothing but air. He could see that the white figure was becoming more and more transparent.

"Follow what your heart tells you is right; let none sway you away from the path you choose. I know quite well a few of your friends believe in destiny, particularly Kamira. But now, you are in control of your destiny. In other words, there is no destiny, only your decisions. Choose wisely Kirby…"

Kirby watched as White Meta Knight completely faded away, leaving only himself and Meta alone in the Time Zone. He felt even less secure than before, with no one to help him if he made a mistake. He shuddered at the thought of Galacta Knight. What if he did something wrong, and ended up with Galacta Knight again? White Meta Knight would not be there to save him and for sure, he would die with a knife sticking from his throat.

Suddenly, movement in the corner of his eye made his snap back to reality. Meta's body was trembling as he looked down upon the scenes before him, replaying his unfortunate life over and over again.

"If…if this is…is what forced me to live through pain and suffering…I WILL NEVER LET ANYTHING RUIN MY LIFE!"

Meta was breathing heavily, arms shaking.

"I…I could have been born to a real family…not created in a test tube…I could have had a mother and father instead of Nightmare…I'm going to take control of my own life and no one, nothing will ever force me to continue suffering!"

"Dad! No!" Kirby cried out, leaping forward towards Meta.

He knocked him down to the ground and they struggled until finally, Kirby grabbed both of Meta's hands, gaining the upper position. Meta shouted out in frustration, kicking Kirby painfully in the chest. Kirby gasped out as his father's younger self even bit him with an unbelievably strong bite.

"Dad, you can't do this."

Meta stopped.

"Did you just call me 'Dad'?"

"Yes, father. I am your son. You are in the future."

For almost a full minute, Meta said nothing; mouth hung open trying to form words but finding nothing. Then, he threw a punch that struck Kirby across the face, throwing him off of him. Meta got up, eyes glowing fiercely.

"Liar," He spat. "That's not possible."

Kirby looked up in shock, surprised that his father did not believe him. He stood up, raising his empty hands to show that he was not going to fight when Meta came forth, raising his glowing red fists. Kirby dodged the blow as Meta unleashed his power over fire. He swung downwards, missing the pink Star Warrior's wings. Kirby turned to see Meta's glowing white eyes. His other glove now crackled with electricity.

"Dad…you have to believe me…you don't suffer forever…you eventually escape, get adopted, join the GSA, and get married and…and eventually have me as a son…you have to believe me!"

"You're lying! You're lying!" Meta cried out between sobs. "Nightmare says that no one would ever love me anymore than he does."

"You have to stop listening to Nightmare! You really do escape and your life gets better! Dad, you have to believe me!"

"No…no…"

Kirby came forth, wrapped his hands around Meta, and hugged Meta tightly. Meta was crying, letting his tears flow down Kirby's arms.

"Dad…you have to believe me..."

They looked up to the figure of Meta Knight in the time stream in the hospital bed from the last journey. Kirby watched as he jumped up on to the bed as Meta Knight moved slightly, rag still draped across his eyes. The others entered the room as Wolfwrath padded up to the side of the bed and licked the Black Angel's head.

Then, Yabui entered the room. Kirby had to smile a little bit as his father tried to stop the so called doctor before he pulled the rag off his slashed face. Meta made a small gasping sound as he saw his future self open his eyes.

"Th…that's not possible…"

"It is."

"But how did I get to the future?"

"I brought you here."

Meta stood up, watching the time stream's images.

"So I die? Here in the future? I get killed?"

Kirby did not want to admit it but it was the truth. For now at least…

"Dad, I have an idea, but it's up to you if it will work."

Meta watched as Kirby plucked a silver feather from his wing and drew Galaxia out. Kirby winced as he sliced his hand open, drawing blood from his hand. Dipping the tip of the sacred sword in the wound, Kirby carefully wrote something across the feather. The blood dried on it, leaving a small message scrawled across it. He handed it to Meta who took it into his gloves.

"What does it say?"

Kirby realized that it was possible he had pulled his father out from a time before he had even learned to read or write. However, this fitted perfectly in his plan.

"Dad, it doesn't matter what it says now, but later, when you can read it, keep it safe. You understand?"

Meta nodded slowly before he suddenly started hiccupping.

"But what if_*hic* _I lose it or never _*hic* _be able to read it?"

"Trust me Dad, you won't be in Nightmare Enterprise forever. You will escape."

"But h-_*hic* _-how?"

"I can't tell you the answer to that, but you _will _escape and you _will _be free."

He pointed at Meta Knight in the time stream.

"That's proof of it right there. You've got to do this Dad, be strong."

Meta looked back up at Kirby, gold eyes full of sadness.

"I don't _*hic* _want to go …"

Kirby's eyes softened slightly.

"Dad, you can do it. You meet friends along the way. You won't be alone. And you will see me…later in life. I'll be there, Dad. I believe in you."

Finally, Meta clutched the feather tightly.

"Y…you _*hic* _promise?"

Kirby smiled.

"Why would I lie to my own father?"

Kirby walked Meta over to the time stream, walking past the memories and scenes until they came to where his father's younger self had been locked away. He could feel his father's hand tighten with uncertainty and as Meta looked at Kirby again, he gave a reassuring nod.

"Bye Dad. I'll see you in the future. It's all up to you now."

**A/N: **0____o Meta Knight died. And what in the world is Kirby planning? What is the message that he wrote on the feather? Meta finally understands who 'Meta Knight' really is: himself.

I was SOOOO close to actually letting Kirby change everything that happened from both Beyond the Mirror AND Angels of Prophecy to a place where everyone is alive and live peacefully in Dreamland. The End. It would have been written something like this:

_Kirby looked around himself to see the familiar grassy hills of Dreamland. Something was different, though. _

_He got up and breathed in as he closed his eyes. He could smell the fresh, clean air with the hint of salt from the ocean bordering Dreamland. He opened his eyes just as Fumu and Bun came over the hill._

"_Hey, Kirby! Want to play soccer with us? We convinced the others to come and play too!"_

_Nodding, Kirby followed them, though still in a daze. He saw his father and mother sitting together on the slope of a hill, facing the sunset in the distance. His eyes widened as he saw Clara. There were no bandages on her head. Then, he smiled. Clara never got hurt in the war, he had changed that! _

_Sword, Blade, Knuckle Joe, and Sirica were already on the soccer field along with Kamira, SailorDee, Jecra, and Garlude. They were all happy. The prophecy, the quest to destroy Nightmare, and venturing into the Mirror World never happened…_

And so on. I liked it enough that I almost actually did that, but it kind of defeats the purpose of bothering to pick up a pencil and write something. If characters could choose how the story ended, nothing of interest would ever happen. (And I'm sure you all were expecting a final battle scene between Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight where he finally wins).

Also in the original writings, when Tokkori was flying down to save the hourglass from being crushed, he ended up dying by getting crushed to death under the gears. I decided to spare his life instead.

Another thing I just thought about is that actually, none of the writers here on Fanfiction own anything. Not even the stories that we write. This story, if in terms of copy rights, really belongs to Nintendo even if it is written by me. I guess we're all just plagiarizers stripping fanfictions of other people apart to add stuff to our own. :D

Like "Oooh! Kirby can talk! I'm going to add that to my story!" (copies)

Or "Cool! Mety turned into a dragon! That's definitely going into my story!" (copies again)

Hmmm….but then again, that makes the whole Disclaimer thing hard to do…I guess that's what I get for using Nintendo's ideas to satisfy my sick mind.

Please review!


	15. Chapter XV: Two Sides of the Prince

**A/N: **Once again, I must apologize for the late update, but the thing that stumped me most was whether I should split the chapter or make an extremely long chapter. I ended up deciding to split them in half after much thought about it, and I regret how long the update was delayed. The good news is that I'm updating the entire conclusion of Beyond the Mirror together. That means this chapter, plus the next chapter and the final chapter are all included. :)

I hope this chapter made up for the delay with a satisfying final battle that will lead us right to the last two chapters with the conclusion of Beyond the Mirror.

Just so that there isn't any confusion later…Meta is still with the rest of the group even after Kirby sends him back to make the change in the past. The reason why is because only one change was made, which you will see later, and nothing else was effected. That means that Kirby still mistakenly brought Meta to the future and that is why Meta will be fighting with the others as they battle through the final battle. This might not make sense now, but hopefully it will clear up any confusion for later.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anybody here expect my OCs. Everything and everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

** -Chapter 15: Two Sides of the Prince-**

Kirby stood watching the time stream, the small figure of Meta returning to his time. Inside, he felt numb. Had he done the right thing? Had he caused an even worse outcome to occur? What if it failed?

His blood stained gloves gripped Galaxia tightly.

_Dad…don't fail us…please!_

He bit down hard on his lip.

How easy it had been for Meta to die in a time stream he did not belong to, mistakenly ripped out of his time by Kirby without even knowing it and for everything to become twisted into a horrible nightmare. How close he had been to destroying the entire universe with a single, innocent want to have his father back had White Meta Knight not been there to stop hung on the thin threads of the time streams, just waiting for Kirby to make a mistake and for everything to fall apart.

A strange new feeling struck him, his wings twitching in anticipation. Somewhere within him, something was awakening for the very first time. He nearly gasped as he heard its small voice.

"_Kirby…"_

Glancing around him, he found no one else there in the Time Zone, not even White Meta Knight. This voice was unfamiliar to him and its voice, though small, vibrated with power.

"_Kirby…" _It called again.

Almost as if having minds of their own, his shaking hands rose into the air evenly, a sudden flash of light making him flinch, yet somehow, it felt natural to him.

Like a holographic image, a large display of the entire time stream lay directly under his gloves. Immediately, several flashing orange dots appeared on the line.

Kirby stood there, unsure of what to do.

_What is all this? It looks like a computer!_

"_Your powers…haven't reached their full potential…this only marks a small portion of that power…"_

_Who are you?_

The voice did not come back and Kirby felt alone. Glancing down at the glowing lines of the transparent panel, the glow of the orange circles reflected off of his eyes. Then, hesitantly, he reached forwards, touching the first one on the line.

The area around him began changing and the air became unbearably humid, and somehow, he recognized it.

_I'm…on Tronjam…but why?_

He could easily remember back to when Meta Knight had landed the Halberd on the rainforest planet to repair it after battling the wind storm of the snow-covered Icronth. Flashes of the betrayal that his father's crew had showed came to his mind, the laughter of the Meta-Knights, and the triumph in Galacta Knight's eyes…

Sound slowly reached his head, taking him back away from his memories and into the present. He heard the heavy boots of soldiers as they marched in formation. Dismissing the glowing panel and pushing aside several leaves clinging to their vines, he saw the GSA base.

The base was in the shape of a pyramid, vines and fuzzy moss growing all around it. Sentries were posted at their stations, lookouts watching from above while monitoring the satellite dish that rotated in a wide circle. There were not many soldiers standing out of its borders, but Kirby estimated that there were over a hundred men, guns on their shoulders as their squadron leaders took count and inspected them all.

He was in a time frame long before he had first come to the very same planet, even before he had been born for that matter.

Strange bird-like creatures walked among the soldiers and Kirby could not help but stare. This was the first time he had ever seen the natives of Tronjam.

Standing on two grasshopper-like legs, the creatures moved about the base, their knees bent back behind them and their stride held the gait of a Flamingo. Their heads, closely resembling what Kirby imagined a Pterodactyl would appear, were arched in the shape of a crescent, their beaks coming to a sharp point. Their eyes were dark, almond-shaped glass, berry juice painted around them in intricate patterns. Brightly colored cloth hung from their necks, adorned with wood beads.

Above the sea of helms and guns, Kirby spotted the dark green plume of Sir Arthur's helmet standing by what Kirby assumed was the chieftain of the exotic race.

As he scanned through the crowds, he nearly missed the glimpse of a caped figure, quietly stealing away from the scene. Taking to the shadows of the trees and shrubs, Kirby followed his father until Meta Knight came to a halt at the very edge of the large tree trunk he was on, far away from the GSA base. He watched as his father, only in his early adulthood looked around him before pulling out a sleek white feather crumpled with age.

It was the very same feather with the warning of his death that Kirby had written in his blood and had given to Meta, hoping that his father would read it and be able to prevent his death on his own.

Meta Knight warily looked over it. Not remembering the strange figure that had given him the feather hundreds of years back, the feather look ordinary in appearance, but the chilling note that had been written in dried blood seemed to have some purpose. All that was written on the feather were just three sets of numbers.

_10. 19. 87_

The only thing that he had been able to work out was that the numbers were a date, an unknown point in time ahead in the future. He had counted out the years until the date on the feather, finding that he would be just turning eight thousand, two hundred and sixty seven years of age; thirty seven in demonbeast years. But what did the numbers mean?

He glanced down at the feather.

_Why do I even bother keeping it? I don't even remember where I got this…_

Kirby gasped as he watched his father hold the feather out over the darkness between the trees, ready to discard it. He finally realized what the orange points signaled: every moment in the changed time stream that was conflicting with his plans. At each of those points, Meta Knight was ready to toss the thing that may save his life.

_He needs that! The numbers…they mark the exact date he dies! He needs to know that otherwise he's going to die again!_

Picking up a rock, Kirby threw it as hard as he could, past Meta Knight and into the bushes to the knight's left. Startled, Meta Knight turned away from the edge, hands on the hilt of his sword.

"Who goes there?"

Kirby ducked, careful not to disrupt the leaves as of not to give away where he was as Meta Knight scanned the area, now alert.

_Come on…put the feather away..you're going to need it, Dad…_

Suddenly, the leaves only a few yards away from him shifted, Jecra stepping out into the clearing.

"Oh, good. There you are," He panted. "Jeez. Tell me when you're going to slip away like that."

Straightening, he looked up towards the trees.

"It's nice here. I can see why you wanted to get away from the bustle back at the base."

"Yeah…it's…quieter here." Meta Knight agreed.

"The ships are ready to leave and if you don't come now, you're going to be left behind."

Jecra turned, already heading back. Meta Knight did not move for a moment but first stopped to look back down at the feather, tucking it under his cape before following Jecra.

As soon as they left, Kirby held out his hands and called out the panel again. He was starting to understand everything. All he needed to do was to either stop his father or at least keep him busy until someone else came, giving Meta Knight no chance to even think about throwing the warning message away.

_He'll get it eventually…but for now, I'd better make sure he doesn't get rid of it!_

He tapped the next orange circle and the hot air cooled, now with a hint of salt and even fish. The trees melted away, replaced by dark stones bathed in a soft blue that held the reflection of water movement. He looked down to see that he was wading through a small pool of water. Stepping out from behind a long glass column filled with rich green kelp, Kirby marveled at his new, strange surroundings.

The room was circular but went far back into the shadows where rows of columns stood, all reaching up towards the high ceiling where a jellyfish hung suspended in the air as a chandelier. Its illuminated tentacles filled the room with light, the glow reflecting off the walls studded with shells.

Turning forwards, Kirby looked out the glass window and out into the deep blue of the ocean.

Suddenly, a fish-like figure swam past the window, not even turning to look at the small pink Star Warrior. Kirby pressed his face to the window, trying to get a better glimpse of it. As it made a turn, Kirby saw that this creature was a mermaid and he recalled something that Sir Arthur had said long ago.

"…_It used to be an ocean planet before the sun of this galaxy had gotten so close to Ceilon. All of the oceans dried up and the mer-people died away. Sad but true."_

That skeleton, the one that Sir Arthur had pointed to! It was a fish-like creature just like that one that passed by!

_This is Ceilon…only way before it dried up and became a desert planet…_

The doors of the room suddenly opened and Kirby dove behind a pillar, keeping his head low as he watched through the watery reflection of who had entered.

Meta Knight slowly walked up to the window, gazing out at the small vibrant fish that swam close to the glass. He let his sword drop from his hand, clattering to the floor before it became silent once more. Once again, he took out the feather, turning it over in his hands.

Kirby looked around him, searching for another rock he could throw but found none. His eyes fell across his wing and an idea came to him.

"_10…19…87…"_Meta Knight thought to himself, repeating it over and over in his head.

The date on the feather was getting closer with every passing day and still, he did not understand it.

_I should get rid of this and be done with this nonsense…it's probably just some joke someone tried to play on me…_

Something touched his feet and turning around, he slowly picked up the loose feather that lay on the platform. Holding it up to the other, they were nearly identical, both from the same set of wings.

He looked around the room, suddenly feeling anger rise up in him.

"Alright, joke's over."

Kirby did not shift from his spot and he stayed completely still, only his breaths making any sound. He felt a drop of sweat roll off his face as Meta Knight seemed to look directly at him. To his relief, Meta Knight continued moving his gaze across the room until he looked back down at both feathers. No new message was inscribed across the other feather. It was completely blank, but it was freshly plucked.

The door opened again, Clara closing it only half way behind her. She walked towards him, black cape moving gently behind her.

Meta Knight put the two feathers away, turning to her.

"Clara…"

"I…is it alright if…I j…join you?"

"O…of course…" He said, dismayed to find himself stammering.

Kirby watched silently from the shadows as they stood side by side, watching the aquatic life outside the glass. With a quick glance at his father though, Kirby could see that Meta Knight was not watching the sea animals but rather Clara through the corner of his mask. He could feel the uneasiness in his father and the several attempts he made to hold her hand but ended up shying away from it each time. He could see how badly his father wanted to do so but was too afraid Clara would reject it.

_Jeez…I didn't know Dad was that shy around Mom!_

Clara turned to him, looking into his eyes.

"M…Meta Knight…there's…s…something I was meaning to t…tell you…"

Meta Knight looked up in surprise but he hid it as he answered politely.

"Yes?"

"Meta Knight...I don't care if y...you're a demonbeast. You s…showed me that a d…demonbeast can still p...protect the innocent."

"You…still accept me…for what I am?" Meta Knight asked in disbelief.

"Yes. You h…have been more honest t…than many people…who are not d…demonbeasts."

Their conversation went on and Kirby suddenly remembered hearing the exact lines when Nightmare had gone through all of his father's memories, deleting them all until his father could only remember to kill everything in his path. This had been the one memory so dear to Meta Knight that even as his body and mind had been surrendered to his master, he had held on to it, never wanting to forget the one moment in his life where he suddenly felt accepted, the exact moment he realized he had fallen in love with Clara.

A faint sound to his left made Kirby turn. He saw the flash of a white object, armor duck behind the shadows of a column within shadows. Then, he saw the figure again, watching the two lovers with a burning hate that seemed to freeze everything around him in ice.

_Galacta Knight…_

"Y…you won't…tell your father about…who I am…right?" Meta Knight suddenly asked in worry.

"H…he doesn't need t…to know…" Clara laughed a little.

She reached up for his mask.

"And h…he doesn't need to k…know about this either…"

The White Angel watched as Clara kissed the Black Angel with her full love and want for him. A jolt of fear ran through Kirby as he watched the very moment that Galacta Knight hated his father more than anyone else in the world, the very moment that he became so jealous that he was willing to become murderous to take Clara for himself.

Galacta Knight's eyes flashed with anger, though he did not make a sound. He stood there, falling deeper and deeper into extreme hate with every moment.

He turned away, silently disappearing out through the open door like a black storm cloud. There was nothing Kirby would have been able to do about the White Angel. As White Meta Knight had said, changing too much of the past would result in the never-ending chain reactions that would ultimately alter the course of the future. His father was still going to have to fight Galacta Knight no matter what Kirby did.

Kirby slipped away out the door as well, leaving his parents together in the dark room. Finding a quiet corner in one of the halls, he opened the panel again.

_I better not spend too much time in one time frame; someone might catch me here when I wasn't even supposed to be around at this time! I still have more to go…_

Taking them down one after the other, Kirby traveled through time and stopped Meta Knight each time he was attempting to toss the feather away until finally, no more orange circles appeared on the panel.

_Looks like my work here's done…_

Everything around him melted back to the Time Zone and he turned towards the end of the time stream. He watched it for a moment before he slowly sank to the ground.

_I…I can't do this…what if everything falls apart?_

He was afraid…afraid to see what damage he had made. Everything had to go exactly as he had planned; otherwise he would not even know what the future was going to hold for him, his family, and his friends.

He cursed himself for having power over time. He wished he had something like Meta Knight's or Galacta Knight's where he would have the power over an element. Time was something more than he could handle; it was something more dangerous than he had ever dreamed.

_No…I've got to keep moving forward, no matter what I did…I have to go back…for Mom…for Dad…for everyone…_

He stood up, trying to keep hold of the sudden burst of determination he had. Hesitation would only bring him back to worry. He had to take action.

He ran forwards, clamping his eyes shut as he leapt forward. He counted out the seconds, desperately trying to keep him from regretting his decisions. Around him, he began to hear the sounds of the ruined factory and the shouts of his friends.

_One…two…three…_

The factory machines as well as the panicked words from his friends slowed, gradually receding into silence.

_Four…five…six…_

He was no longer able to feel his heavily wounded body. Even the metronome-like beat of his heart seemed far away.

_Seven…eight…_

The presence of the others seemed to vanish, leaving him spiraling through the air alone.

_Nine…ten…_

The final echoes of Dark Meta Knight's laughter of victory rang through Kirby's mind before he too vanished along with everything and everyone else.

* * *

The familiar sounds of battle awoken Kirby. He blinked, nearly falling over from his standing position. Clutching his throbbing head, he stumbled towards the railings, gripping the metal bars tightly as he looked up to see the same, haunting scene: the final moments of his father.

Meta Knight collapsed to the floor, choking on his blood as Dark Meta Knight stood over him in the form of Galacta Knight.

"You chose such a hard way to die. This is it. Farewell…Meta-K02, Prince of Demonbeasts…"

Kirby took a step back. He was watching the final moments of his father again. His body froze up, his throat constricting. He watched as Dark Meta Knight raise his arm, pointing the lethal gun directly at Meta Knight. Then, the trigger was pulled. The solid gold bullet shot out from its barrel, turning a full revolution as it sliced through the still air. Kirby could hear his shouts fill his head. Why? Why did he have to watch this again?

Then something unexpected took its turn.

Meta Knight's hand moved to his right arm where he now wore a metal gauntlet, unlike from before. He pressed down on its red, glowing gem as he raised it up in front of him in a defensive pose. Kirby's eyes reflected the bright barrier of light that shot into the air in a jagged shape. It crackled with energy as the bullet struck against the glass-like structure. No one moved as the bullet clattered to the floor, rolling to a stop at Meta Knight's feet. He lowered his arm to face the bewildered expression of Dark Meta Knight.

"I'm not ready to die yet, not when you're still here!"

With a surge of anger, Meta Knight leapt forward and threw himself with all of his force into Dark Meta Knight. They both fell backwards, slamming into a large wall of computer monitors as the Dark One converted back into his original form. Kirby watched as a sleek, white feather slipped from Meta Knight's grasp, sweeping across the bloodstained tiles, and up to the very edge of the platform. He could see red letters written across it, mostly smeared and erased by the many hundreds of years.

_It…worked…_

Kirby felt all of his fears drain away. He drew Galaxia from its scabbard.

_There really is no such thing as destiny…I'm in control of it…I can change my fate…the future isn't set ahead of us…I'm the one who has to make my own future, not destiny!_

He did not even notice as the memory of the feather or of the desperate attempts to bring his father back to life, slip away from him, forever forgotten. The change he had made from a futureless time stream was gone…he was now living in a new one, one that he had created.

Meta Knight drew a second sword he had from its scabbard and ran out to meet Dark Meta Knight's sword. With a mighty ring, the sound echoed around them as they repeatedly struck out at the other. The Black Angel seemed to gain ground, driving his darker self back when Dark Meta Knight leapt into the air, stabbing downward. Meta Knight sidestepped, managing to cut into his opponent's back as Dark Meta Knight pulled his sword free from the platform.

Backing up a little, the two circled each other, both hands on their swords at the ready for even the slightest hint of attack from the other.

Then, Dark Meta Knight opened his wings and leapt forward. Meta Knight parried his fierce attacks. He thrust his sword forward, making his opponent falter. Now seeing his chance, Meta Knight slashed an upward strike, successfully disarming Dark Meta Knight.

Shocked, Dark Meta Knight eyes widened as Meta Knight pointed his sword nearly an inch away from his eyes.

However, Dark Meta Knight let out a low laugh.

"Starting to fight now, eh? I was becoming quite sick of your childish acts of trying to run away." He said, gloves flaring up with fire.

Meta Knight was thrown back as Dark Meta Knight unleashed his power over fire, his snake-like eyes glowing in the reflection of the fire.

Meta, on the platform with the others, watched Meta Knight get back up on his feet. His gold eyes followed the fighting figures as Meta Knight and his darker self carried the battle up on to the support beams high above. Leaping up on to the lowest bar, Meta Knight climbed his way up until he reached the top support beam, turning to face his opponent. He ran forward, meeting his darker self head on. With the unnatural sense of balance the two possessed, they moved at a dizzying speed.

Dark Meta Knight snapped off a solid metal rod, twirling it in the air above him expertly before holding it out before him, ready to take on his enemy. Meta Knight came forward, slashing downward. Dark Meta Knight thrust the blade of his opponent's sword away and stabbed forwards, only to strike the hilt of Meta Knight's sword. His snake-like eyes focused in on the V-slit of his opponent's mask, trying to break through Meta Knight's defense for a killing stab.

The young dark blue puffball felt his wings twitch. He could not stand to watch a fight without being a part of it. Fights always meant blood spill. For a demonbeast, feeling, seeing, and smelling fresh blood was heavenly, tempting and inviting.

"_You were created for battle with the highest level of skill, strength, and agility…don't hold back…unleash your anger and power and let your enemies cower…" _He remembered Nightmare once said to him.

He looked back at Kirby and the others. This dark blue knight appeared to be related to the pink one in a way Meta could not describe. Kirby called the knight 'father' and 'Dad' which puzzled Meta. There was some strong bond between the two that was even stronger than just a mere acquaintanceship or alliance. He trusted Kirby by far better than any of the rest of the group of strangers. He wanted to help his only friend.

_What's wrong with his wings? Can't he fly?_

He watched as Kirby ran forward, attempting to get up on to the support beams but found no boxes to climb his way up on. Slowly, Meta turned back towards the two knights. If the dark blue one held alliance with Kirby, he was going to fight on the same side as him.

Before anyone could stop him, Meta shot into the air. His wings unfolded as energy surged through him. Seeing that the dark figure possessed the power over fire as well, Meta felt himself more than welcome to join the battle.

Meta Knight swore silently as he drew further back between the water heaters. He knew that he had walked straight into a dead end and could do nothing about it. He had his shield out, fending off the blows sent by Dark Meta Knight. There was no way he would be able to hold off his opponent for long in his exhausted state; he knew this too.

Dark Meta Knight lowered the bar, his opposite hand glowing the deep crimson red of fire. Curling his glove into a tight fist, he drew his arm back, ready to shatter the thin shield.

Meta Knight watched as a sudden blur shot through the air, knocking Dark Meta Knight off the support beam and on to a flat cog. Both looked up to see Meta flying above them. Dark Meta Knight stood up, widened eyes not turning away from Meta.

"H…how can this be?" He stammered, seeing his younger self standing before him for the first time.

He quickly regained composure, however, but by the time he had the metal rod in his hand again, Meta Knight had already taken the opportunity to escape and get back out into the open. Cursing, Dark Meta Knight turned to face both Meta Knights, one the knight himself and the other his younger self, both standing ready to fight.

Meta glanced up at Meta Knight just as the knight looked down towards him. No words were said but in a silent acknowledgement of the new partnership, they stood side by side, Meta Knight with his sword out and Meta with his body crackling with electricity.

Dark Meta Knight turned to spit out fresh blood from his mouth, holding the metal rod in a straight horizontal line in front of him. He spread his feet back, bending lower to the ground.

Meta Knight and his younger self ran forwards, eyes fixed on their opponent. Dark Meta Knight charged to meet their attack, thrusting the bar forwards with an underhand swoop. Meta was the first to reach the Dark One, swinging his fist with a powerful force. His hand struck the bar, making him draw it back in pain. Dark Meta Knight slammed the bar into his opponent's lower jaw with a quick flick of his hand.

Meta Knight came in on his left. Dark Meta Knight made a full turn, changing his focus from Meta to the older version of him and the bar vibrated as the blade of the sword slashed down on it. He thrust the bar forward, knocking Meta Knight off his feet.

A sudden jolt of pain snapped Dark Meta Knight back to Meta. The young dark blue puffball hurled another electric ball which crackled overhead. Dark Meta Knight retreated back, stepping up on to a wider platform. Meta ran forwards, stopping at the edge of the platform.

Dark Meta Knight panted heavily from under his mask, though not one sound escaped from him. His mind was busily working out strategically placed moves that would earn him his much-desired victory.

_So this really is myself…only younger…_

A sudden strategy came to his mind; a wide smirk spread across the corner of his mouth. He needed to separate his two opponents.

"I'm tired of playing around. Transform into your true form and let us finish this!"

Meta stopped, lowering his hands slightly.

"M…my true form?"

Dark Meta Knight lowered the metal rod and paced casually around the platform. He could sense the sudden fear that ran through Meta from the mention of his true form.

"You're too afraid to, aren't you? In that case, I'd highly suggest getting out of this fight. This battle is for men, not stupid little brats."

Meta Knight back on the support beams stood up, every muscle in his body feeling weak. He turned towards the platform, suddenly realizing the trap Dark Meta Knight was ensnaring Meta with.

Meta looked back towards Meta Knight, body trembling in uncertainty. His mind was at war, one side begging him to run from his fear of transforming, and the other screaming to fight his enemy. He also was torn between listening to the two Meta Knights. Dark Meta Knight was successfully overpowering Meta Knight's words, tempting Meta to transform without the interference from the knight.

"Don't do it!" Meta Knight shouted from somewhere in the furthest corner of his mind. "Stay in the form you're in!"

Meta could not hear the desperate warnings his older self shouted. To him, the shouts seemed far away although the knight was only a small distance away. His body shook uncontrollably with anger, provoked by Dark Meta Knight.

"_Stupid little brat," _Dark Meta Knight taunted. "_Such a disgrace to your own kind. You won't even fight back…your kind was meant to be the strongest of fighters the universe has ever seen, not to run away like a coward…fight me, transform and we shall finish this."_

Meta let out a low hiss, wings flaring up in the wide arch. He took a step forward, crouching down low like an anticipating panther. The mocking eyes of Dark Meta Knight only added to his fury.

Meta Knight gasped out as he watched his younger self's body quiver violently, wings glowing. He ran forwards, tackling Meta to the ground, shaking the unresponsive figure with all of his strength.

"No!" He shouted, forcing to keep looking at Meta although the dark blue puffball was shining in a blinding light.

He was suddenly lifted into the air, dangling higher and higher above the support beams. His arms, which had reached all the way around his younger self's body, now only reached less than half way around the slender neck of the newly transformed black dragon. He hung on as Meta's body filled up the platform space, tiles below him breaking apart. With a thundering roar, Meta opened his wings in a majestic wave, strengthened wings in full brilliance.

As Meta Knight dangled from above, his body turned to face the reflection of Dark Meta Knight, eyes showing the smirk he held from under his scarred mask. He watched as his darker self's wings spread open like an evil curse spreading over the battle arena, leathery wings beginning to glimmer. The second silhouette of a dragon filled the blinding light, even larger than Meta's form. Meta's head tilted back to see the shadowy head of Dark Meta Knight become serpent-like, eyes gleaming.

Without warning, Dark Meta Knight's head shot out, jaws sinking into Meta's neck. The smaller dragon trashed about on the platform, roaring out in pain as he snapped at Dark Meta Knight in feeble attempts to break free. The larger dragon's jagged teeth sank deeper as he shook Meta's weak and slender neck, ripping away at his flesh.

Meta's neck was bent at a near perfect right angel as he slashed out with his front claws. The attack made no marks against his captor's armored scales as the struggled continued.

Meta Knight winced as his hands slid down along Meta's neck, gloves shredded by the sharp scales that lined Meta's body. He locked his arms around Meta as his feet touched Dark Meta Knight's head. He looked down as a blast of hot air shot out from his darker self's mouth. Grabbing his sword, he let go and stabbed downwards into the larger dragon's gold eye.

Almost the instant his sword pierced the glass-like pupil, Meta Knight was knocked backwards as Dark Meta Knight released his hold on the smaller dragon's neck, deafening roar shaking the room. He slammed his serpent body against the metal tanks and machines, blood creating a film over his left eye. Then slowly, he turned his head, a long growl escaping from between his clenched teeth. By the time he had turned to where his opponents were, Meta had already clumsily scurried away, knocking into machines as he went.

In the air, Meta Knight's flailing hands caught hold of Meta's tail and he was whisked away as Meta dove off the edge of the platform headfirst. The smaller dragon twisted his body as he descended before he suddenly lurched upwards, Dark Meta Knight in hot pursuit.

Meta Knight turned away from his hands holding on to steamer-like tail and behind him, gasping out as Dark Meta Knight shot forward, jaws snapping at the air just below the knight. He flinched as the black dragon's teeth grazed the tip of his wings before Dark Meta Knight suddenly disappeared into the dark chasms below. Moving as a silent shadow, Dark Meta Knight was near undetectable but the faint glimmer of his serpent body was enough to show that he was ready to strike out any minute.

Meta Knight looked up towards his younger self. Reaching out with his mind, he suddenly found a blockade of frenzied thoughts pour out from Meta's mind; overwhelmingly obstruct any communication with the small black dragon.

Turning back, no trace of Dark Meta Knight could be found. As if he had vanished, all that could be seen was the darkness of the chasm of the factory. Then, he spotted the sword he had stabbed through Dark Meta Knight's eye catch the light from above, coming towards them at an alarming rate. His shout never sounded as Dark Meta Knight knocked his armored head into Meta's chest like an iron ball from a cannon. Meta was slammed against the wall, screeching out as Dark Meta Knight pinned him under his horns.

Meta's tail whipped through the air wildly, Meta Knight clinging on to it as tightly as he could. The knight's eyes widened as he watched his grasp slip. The next wave of the smaller dragon's tail sent him sailing through the air, soaring above the others before landing in a crumpled pile against the hard surface of a metal tank. The others rushed to him, Clara shaking him.

"Meta Knight!" She cried.

Weakly lifting his head, Meta Knight looked into her soft eyes, glove wiping away her tears. Lololo and Lalala supported him as he leaned back against the tank, carefully moving his wings aside as of not to place pressure on them.

"H…he can't do it …" Meta Knight murmured. "My darker self will kill him…"

Kamira turned towards the struggling figures of the dragons.

"Your darker self has already half succeeded in his plans…he has you two singled out to fight individually. This way, neither of you will have a chance against him. You tried to fight together with your younger self, yet that still didn't work. You know why?" She asked slowly.

Meta Knight did not say anything, but he could already guess what the spirit was going to say.

"You need to work together as one, not two separate figures. Up on the support beams, even though you were fighting together, you two weren't synced and you fought taking turns against Dark Meta Knight. As of now, you need to get back on your younger self and calm his mind down; he's thinking too fast to actually put up a fight. You need to get back on him direct him. Although _you _have lost your abilities to use your full powers, _he _can."

No one said a word as they watched Meta break free from Dark Meta Knight's hold and shoot out away from the wall and into the open air. The two dragons flew overhead, one in desperation and the other with the intent of murder.

"How much time is left in the hourglass?" Kamira asked without looking turning her gaze away.

"N…not much…" Clara quietly said as she lifted the hourglass out for the rest of them to see.

"We have to make our way to the stairs. Mety, you're going to have to fight alongside yourself, no one else can fight against your darker self but you." Kamira said, forgetting the usual displeasure Meta Knight had when called by his nickname in front of others.

Meta Knight stood up, not even bothering to shake away the dust and rubble that had settled on his body.

"I…I don't know how I can fight him…I admit it, I'm afraid to…he knows everything about me, yet I know nothing of him…"

"You're not fighting him alone, Mety. You have your younger self with you. Together, you can take down your dark side."

Slowly, Meta Knight turned towards the long lines of conveyor belts and finally towards the two black dragons in the air above them.

"Kirby," He said quietly. "Get your mother out of here. I want to be assured of the safety of both of you."

"But Sir," Lololo and Lalala called out at once. "How are you going to get on your younger self's back? He's up too high in the air for you to jump on his back!"

Meta Knight turned to them, eyes flashing green.

"That's the job of the two of you. Now hurry!"

The two twins looked at each other before they flew over to him.

"I'm not so sure of this, Prince…" Lololo said.

"We can't fly that fast!" His twin added.

"We've got to try," Meta Knight said. "We don't have much time to waste. As the Prince of Demonbeasts, I order you two to move it!"

Taking hold of his arms, the two twins shot into the air, taking Meta Knight with them. They made a turn, cutting it close as they flew around the base of a large reactor until they disappeared.

None of the others moved. Kirby drew Galaxia out of its scabbard and was going to run after his father when Kamira floated before him.

"No, Kirby. This is a battle only your father can fight."

"How can you say that? Aren't you on our side?"

He moved to try a different path away from her, only to have Kamira blocking his path again.

"Kirby, I care deeply about your father, but this isn't our fight. His powers and his darker side's powers are something beyond what any of us can comprehend. There isn't a chance we'd stand a fight out there. He insisted for you to take Clara to safety for a reason and you know very well yourself that none of us have much time before the hourglass reaches its last grain of sand."

"But…" He trailed off.

His shoulders sagged, defeated. He could not argue with what the spirit had to say.

His reflection in Galaxia's blade looked back at him in the corner of his blue eyes. How different he was now-his eyes no longer were the same eyes that had looked back at him long ago in a mere reflection. He was more mature and ready to take on the challenges of life, the challenges to lead an army to victory against the darkest forces of the universe. Along with the wounds across his body, his wings appeared in the image behind him. He was the Half Angel; he too had a rare power like his father.

His blue eyes shifted to watch Meta topple over a tower of scrap metal, Dark Meta Knight on top of him ripping at the smaller dragon's unprotected chest.

_Dad…I hope you know what you're doing…_

* * *

Lololo and Lalala powered their way through the maze of wires and cable boxes that crackled with electricity from their frayed lines, struggling to keep them all in the air. Meta Knight knocked aside the objects that came in their path with a swipe of his sword, eyes not looking away from his younger self.

_Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. _He repeated in his mind, thinking of the trap his younger self came straight into.

They all ducked as the two twins flew under a large metal beam that had fallen from the battling dragons in the factory, nearly slamming straight into a wall as they took a sharp corner.

"Prince!"Lalala shouted out to be heard over the roar of the dragons. "We'll bring you as close as possible to them and see if you can try to get on to your younger self's back!"

"How am I supposed to jump on to something that's moving a hundred miles per hour?"

There was no reply and Meta Knight looked back at his leathery bat wings. Had he still been able to use them, the feat would have been easier. His inability to use his powers greatly frustrated him and his gloves shook with his anger.

The two dragons battered away at the factory ruins with little care of the threat it put the others at of falling objects. Meta Knight looked up to see a glimpse of Meta's terrified eyes as he shot past, followed by Dark Meta Knight soon after.

A long wire suddenly broke off of the electrical machine it had been attached too, crackling with a high voltage power as it fell. Lololo and Lalala gasped out as they came to a sudden halt. They watched as their grasp around Meta Knight's arms slipped.

"Prince!"

Meta Knight fell through the web of wiring; each time he landed on another layer slowed his descent. He looked up to see the electrical wire coming towards him. Grabbing his sword, he slashed through the wires, desperately trying to get out of the way. The cable crackled threateningly as it fell through the gaps in the web.

He threw himself to the side just as it came crashing down, electrifying the wires it touched. Meta Knight fell through into open air again when he suddenly struck Meta's back as the small dragon came by again. Lololo and Lalala stopped as they acknowledged that they had completed their task. Meta Knight was back on his younger self.

Meta Knight gasped as he was slammed to and fro, bruising his body as he desperately hung on. His younger self's scales were becoming bent and scratched from the abuse he put himself through in an attempt to escape. Dark Meta Knight came from behind, sinking his teeth into Meta's back leg.

Meta screamed out in pain through his mind, nearly shattering Meta Knight's wall of thought. The knight clambered up on to his neck, making his way without cutting himself on the sharp scales. Kicking his feet, he clung on to Meta's horns, pulling himself up the rest of the way.

"_Idiot!" _He shouted as loud as he could into his mind. _"Listen to me! Clear your mind!"_

He felt his mind become pressured as the thousands of panicked thoughts came through the new connection he made with his younger self. However, his presence seemed to slightly calm Meta down.

"_Clear…your…MIND!" _Meta Knight pressed, gripping the horns tighter as he planted his feet in a secure position between them.

He dug through his younger self's thoughts, searching for a possible path to penetrate through the barrier of thoughts. At last, he found the small gap and he broke his way through the overwhelming thoughts, reaching the small, fragile state of calmness in Meta's mind.

"_Meta-K02, listen to me. We'll fight this together…you and I."_

He could feel questions suddenly form in his younger self's mind as of how he knew the black dragon's full project name.

"_Focus! Keep your mind clear! Turn around now and face our darker side."_

"_No…" _Meta said in a small voice.

"_Do it!"_

Behind them, Dark Meta Knight was watching, flapping his powerful wings to keep him steady in the air. As Meta turned around slowly, the larger black dragon continued to gaze towards them with unblinking eyes. His opponents had reunited, but even so, an easy victory lay ahead. Meta Knight had none of his powers and his younger self did not have the full strength of his older self.

The two dragons stayed in the air, watching for the slightest of movements.

Meta Knight crouched down closer to Meta's head. He knew speaking verbally or though his mind would make no difference of trying to keep his plans away from Dark Meta Knight. Either way, the larger black dragon would know.

"It's okay. I'll guide you through this. You have to trust me." He said out loud without bothering to lower his voice.

Meta made a long whimpering sound through his mind, tail coiling around himself.

"_Who are you? Why does your presence…feel…familiar?"_

The larger dragon on the other side of factory made a loud laughing-like sound that rumbled deeply in his throat.

"_Well, if you're so sure of yourself, Meta Knight, why not transform yourself instead of forcing a child to do the dirty work?"_

"_You know perfectly why I can't transform!" _Meta Knight hissed. _"You took my abilities from me to use for yourself!"_

"_The power was never yours. I so nicely lent it to you during your hours of need and when you came to battle. They rightfully belong to me as well as a numerous other things that you selfishly took."_

With a loud roar, Dark Meta Knight charged forward, using his armored head as a battering ram spiraling towards the smaller black dragon.

"_Fly! Meet him head on! Build up as much speed to make up for your lack of strength!" _Meta Knight shouted.

The impact was booming thunder against the sound of grinding metal. Meta was knocked away like a useless toy as Dark Meta Knight rammed into his throat. Meta flew to the other side of the narrow channel that now formed their battle arena, sobbing out in his mind.

"_I can't do it!" _He cried. _"He's too strong!"_

"_You've got to do this. I don't have any of my powers and you're already transformed. We have to be strong!"_

Dark Meta Knight charged forwards again and Meta's gold eyes looked up towards Meta Knight before he flew forwards. Meta Knight felt his own voice in his mind falter. He was afraid too, but he would not admit it. The realization that Dark Meta Knight was unstoppable in his true form came to him. Thinking quickly, he looked down at Meta again.

"_See his jaw? Fly down when you draw close to him and slam as hard as you can into his lower jaw."_

Meta Knight ducked as Meta followed his order, catching Dark Meta Knight off guard as he fought back. His horns stabbed into the larger dragon's mouth, dark red dripping down along Meta Knight's back as he hung on tight.

"_Twist right and lock your jaw into his neck!"_

Meta turned his body, scraping his horns deeper into Dark Meta Knight's flesh when the larger dragon suddenly ripped at his face with his front claws. His back claws came out, tearing through the membrane of Meta's wings. The larger black dragon struck out again, this time with enough force to dislodge a bone from its socket in the structure of the smaller black dragon's wings.

The smaller black dragon plummeted down, unable to fly with one wing. Meta Knight shook him, calling out to him through his mind. The only response he received was the screams of Meta thundering into his mind. He looked down to see that they would land on the platform below them in a matter of moments. Meta, in his current form, would only injure himself further.

"_Transform back!"_

"_No! No! NO!" _Meta screamed.

Dark Meta Knight came from above, swooping downwards.

"Look ou-" Was what all Meta Knight had time to shout before the smaller dragon was slammed into the platform, Dark Meta Knight landing on top of him.

Meta Knight was thrown off, nearly crushed as Meta's flailing tail thrashed about. He grabbed his sword, jumping up on Meta's throat and running forward when the larger dragon turned towards him.

Kirby, who had found a way up on to a higher platform, stopped in horror as Dark Meta Knight snatched his father up with his teeth and tossed him upwards. Galaxia vibrated in his grip and without thinking; Kirby threw the sacred sword as far as he could. As Meta Knight came downwards, Dark Meta Knight's jaw closed around him, swallowing both him and Galaxia whole.

* * *

The group watched as Kirby ran towards the struggling dragons, unable to stop him. His pink body soon disappeared behind the wires and metal machinery heading towards the battle. It was not until Dedede suddenly cried out in panic when they turned back to the platform they were on. Forming behind them, towering high above was a shadow monster.

Its body was still forming, smaller shadow monsters liquefying and combining with the larger one and they could see the individual creatures within, their unblinking eyes marking out their forms.

Blade drew his sword when it was suddenly knocked away by a vicious swipe, his sword sliding off the edge of the platform and into the darkness of the factory.

The monster crouched down, its body dripping with black particles that burned their way through the sturdy steel floor like acid. Its deformed mouth opened slightly, only to be sealed shut as the top part of its face melted.

"Retreat back," Sir Arthur ordered.

As the monster advanced closer, the group slowly backed away, all those with weapons holding them at the ready.

"Sir…" Jecra said without taking his gaze away from the creature. "Any orders?"

"If it charges, break formation and run. See if we can surround it." Sir Arthur murmured.

"Well looks like we're going to have to run!" Blade shouted as the creature flared the large fan-like frill around its neck.

They turned and ran, the monster crazily running after them. Clara screamed as it shot out a large wave of black particles, reaching towards her. Dedede turned, lifting her clear off her feet as he leapt over a support beam that toppled across the platform, wires snapping with a flurry of sparks. Looking behind him, he gasped out as the monster pounded the platform with its full weight. Nothing happened and for a split second, the entire group looked around them.

Then, with the power of a raging wave, the entire platform broke apart into rugged zigzags. Bun and Blade screamed as they were thrown into the air.

"Look out!"Sirica cried as a metal pole slammed into a gas tank.

Fire billowed out, smoke filling their lungs. Tokkori was knocked from the air by a burning coal that shot out from the smoke cloud, narrowly missing being crushed as two large platform pieces crashed into the other.

Dedede fell, Clara flying out from under his arms as he rolled off to the very edge of the platform. His gloves snatched a protruding pipe for dear life. Looking down, the radiant glow of multiple gas tanks, all erupting at once. A blast of hot air singed off his hat. He looked back up, screaming as the shadowy form of the monster looked down at him, its glowing eyes focusing on him.

The others collapsed on to the only level platform amid the field of destruction. Smoke swirled around them, blocking their view. Clara was sobbing, her face cut in several areas by exploding glass.

"F…father…" She cried.

"Clara…listen to me...it's going to be alright…" Sir Arthur said quietly as he floated down to her.

Suddenly, a glowing red orb appeared in the hazy smoke, slowly coming forwards towards the group. They watched as the metal platform at the very edge of what they could see through the mist, get eaten away as black particles burned through them. Behind them, the blackness swirled about, like greedy hands just searching for which one to pick off first.

Then, the rest of the monster appeared, Dedede dangling helplessly from the scruff of his robe, the cloth melting on the creature's jagged teeth.

The monster walked forwards, its stumps that served as its feet sucking the life all around it. The air became frosty as the black particles stole the heat and energy from the air molecules.

Sirica took out her gun and was raising it to shoot when Clara suddenly held out a hand, stopping her.

"L…leave this…to me…"

"Clara!" Sir Arthur gasped. "What in the world are you thinking!"

"I…I will not s…stand to cower away w…while the rest of you k…kill yourselves…fighting this…"

"Leave that for Bun, Blade, and Sirica to do, Clara! Listen to me!"

She advanced forwards, walking straight through the transparent body of Sir Arthur as he floated in front of her in an attempt to stop her. Her eyes burned with a fiery determination and he realized she was not going to listen to him.

"Someone stop her!" Sir Arthur begged, dismayed to find that none of the living group members making a move to do so.

The creature bent its head forward, crouching down low. Dedede kicked wildly as the ground came closer, only inches away from his feet.

Clara closed her eyes, holding her open hands out, letting ancient words flow through her mind.

A wooden staff appeared n her hands, tracing its silhouette in bring glowing lines before materializing. Its gleaming amethyst crystal glowed brightly filling the smoky clouds with a soft purple. Letters began engraving themselves into the oak wood finish, flashing with a bright blue before it faded, now set within her staff.

Never before had Clara revealed herself as a skilled magic user and the others, who had previously thought of her as a gentle healer were stunned by the power that rippled around her.

As if a sudden wind had swept by, the ends of her black cape billowed furiously behind her along with her hair as she held her staff in the air, the crystal releasing a crackling ball of light.

The shadow monster tilted its head back, flaring its neck's frills before it pounced forwards, claws closing in around Clara at both sides.

Waving her staff, the ball of light surged forwards, gaining size and speed while in the air before slamming into the creature's upper jaw. Dedede screamed as more of the acid-like particles oozed closer to his neck as he struggled.

Clara tapped her staff on the ground, several rings of light forming around her. Within the circles, a bright, glowing star appeared under her, rotating along with its ring as more symbols formed. Then, they all came together back under Clara and the others watched as her cape burst with light as she started lifting into the air.

Taking her staff, she raised it above her head, slamming it down towards the monster's head. A large hiss escaped a steam rose out of the creature's head, the black particles dissolving away. As more and more of the particles disappeared, the skull of the creature became more and more exposed. The others came to realize that the monster was nothing more than multiple creatures wrapped around the skeleton of some dead animal.

"Escargon!" Dedede cried as the black particles dripped down on to his robes, eating through the fabric.

"Take off your robe, Sire!"

Without questioning, Dedede pulled his arm out of his sleeve, still dangling in the air. From the strain of holding his weight, the rest of his robe tore off with him as he smashed into the ground, finally free. He scrambled away, body shaking.

Clara was getting ready to fire another spell when she gasped out in pain, her free hand over her unborn baby. She felt all of her concentration disappear, the magic wearing away.

_No…_

She had always been physically weak and with the baby, she had even less energy. Each of her spells ate away at her, draining her of all energy, including the energy to think, move, or even breathe.

She had to finish this soon.

Facing the monster, she gasped as its tail slammed into her, knocking her out of the air. She felt her hands slide along the staff's wood, losing her firm grasp. Saying a few words under her breath, the staff glowed again.

She felt a cushion of air bring her to a halt just before her body impacted the hard metal wall and kicking her feet off the wall, she shot forward and back towards the monster.

Now glowing a bright blue, her staff was swung forward, sending a wave of energy that sliced through the monster's neck. Its head snapped off, falling to the ground as black particles poured out of it like blood.

Clara landed gently back on the platform beside her friends, gasping for air.

The group was about to relax when the creature's beheaded from turned towards them, its head bounding into the air straight towards them.

Screaming, Clara ducked as the head leapt through the air, jaws snapping where she had been a few moments ago before it diving into the smoke screen, disappearing from sight.

The headless body transformed, shrinking slightly to give more material for a new head. The newly formed monster looked down at her, now with its ribs sticking out of its chest. Then, before anyone had time to react, black particles shot out of its chest like tentacles, snatching SailorDee, Kamira, and Jecra out of the air, pulling the spirits into it as its chest opened, revealing its beating heart.

The spirits shouted out before they were pulled in, imprisoned within the creature's heart.

"Jecra!" Garlude shouted.

The black tentacles sped through the air, closing in around her. She flew back just as the black particles collided.

"How can that thing touch us? We're dead!"

"Apparently it can…" Sir Arthur said quietly, bracing himself to get out of the creature's grasp should it try to grab him too.

Garlude turned back just as the black particles swarmed around her, pulling her into the monster's body. Once again, the heart appeared out and Garlude was gone. Sir Arthur's eyes widened.

"The heart! Of course! Clara, that thing can be dismembered piece by piece but it won't die. You have to strike the heart!"

Clara watched as the heart sank back into the creature's body, covered up by the black particles.

"T…there's no w…way I can! It k…keeps disappearing!"

The monster flared its neck frills planting its claws down into the metal ground. Clara raised her staff, parrying its attack. Just as she was going to release another spell, Bun shouted.

"Look out behind you!"

Clara turned just as the head of the original creature pounced, knocking her staff out of her hands. A jagged piece of metal that had been lodged in the skull of the monster slashed through her face, cutting a trail of blood before it snaked its way back into the smoke.

Clara dropped to her hands, body shaking violently. Pain seared through her and the world spun dizzily around her. She looked up, the monster diving forward with its jaws open.

She shut her eyes, screaming although she knew it would not make a difference.

Suddenly, she felt small hands whisk her out of the way, holding her arms in a secure grasp. She opened her eyes to see Lololo and Lalala, Tokkori holding her staff.

"We'll fight this together," Lololo and Lalala said at the same time.

Nodding, she took her staff back from the yellow bird and faced the monster. Sir Arthur floated to his daughter.

"Clara…I'm going to let it take me, when it reveals its heart, strike it."

"N…no father!" She said, eyes widening.

"There's no other way. It's using spirits to harness all of its power. It won't expose its heart unless it's taking in another spirit."

She looked at Sir Arthur, body trembling. She raised her hand as he turned, floating out in midair openly.

"You're going to have to go along with it," Tokkori said. "Sir Arthur always has the best plans."

"N…not always…" Clara said quietly as she held her staff out.

The monster looked down at the former GSA leader's ghost, its eyes glowing intensely. Its frills on its neck lowered as it bowed low like a panther ready to strike. Sir Arthur closed his eyes, fearing for his daughter more than his own sake.

Then, the monster jumped forward, black tentacles shooting out and wrapping around Sir Arthur's body. His eyes snapped open, looking towards Clara as the monster's heart reappeared.

"NOW!"

Clara took aim and fired, the spell eating away the rest of her energy. Lololo and Lalala watched as her body fell from their hands, collapsing on to the ground, her staff clattering beside her. The light came forwards when suddenly; the original creature's head came out into the air, blocking the final spell.

The others watched as the head disintegrated, leaving the newly formed monster unaffected by the spell.

Sir Arthur watched horrified as he watched his daughter collapse before he turned back to the monster.

But something was wrong.

The monster turned to look down at its heart where a large, gaping hole bled. Sirica lowered her gun, having fired the final bullet in the barrel of the gun.

The monster dropped Sir Arthur, clutching its heart as it began dissolving, forming a pool of blackness. Then, the acid burned through the rest of the platform, leaving a hole as a cloud of steam rose, everything that remained of the creature.

The creature's heart froze like a block of ice, smashing against the platform. Kamira, SailorDee, Jecra, and Garlude floated out, appearing dazed.

The others came to the aid of Clara who was still not responding to the frantic shakes from the Lola twins. To everyone's surprise, Sir Arthur was crying.

"Clara…please…"

Sirica and Bun helped turn her over on to her back, leaning her head against a pile of rubble.

"W…will she be alright?" Sir Arthur asked.

"Yes, she appears to be just exhausted. I think if we give her some time to rest, she will be fine." Garlude answered.

Sir Arthur wiped away his tears off of his face, standing upright again.

"H…Her mother was a magic user as well…and…she died from using all of her energy…I was so afraid…afraid that my only daughter would become a magic user like her mother…I didn't…want her to die…the same way…"

Then, as if he had never broken down emotionally, Sir Arthur turned to look back to where they had come from.

"We have to get back to Kirby and Sir Meta Knight," He said slowly. "The longer we stay, the more and more threats we will face."

* * *

Meta Knight tumbled down the larger dragon's esophagus, Galaxia tumbling behind him. The muscles squeezed and contracted, pushing him further down. Hot air blasted around him, all oxygen quickly diminishing.

Everything was dark, only the glow of Galaxia lighting the way. His other sword was long gone, and left weaponless, his open hand reached towards the sacred sword.

Outside, Kirby was running towards the fighting dragons when Dark Meta Knight stopped, claws held up to his throat. Kirby watched as the golden blade of Galaxia sliced through his neck, blood showering the platform and Meta.

Then, Dark Meta Knight coughed Meta Knight out of his throat in a glob of his stomach fluids, blood streaming out of his neck from its wounds. Meta Knight gasped out for air, shaking the greenish juice off of him.

Kirby ran towards him, pulling his father away from the two towering dragons as they watched Dark Meta Knight transform back into his original form. Meta began to glow too, finally freed from his attacker.

As the two dragons disappeared, replaced by the puffballs, Dark Meta Knight staggered forward. With one hand, he clutched his throat, pressing down against his scarred mask where dark red streamed out from underneath.

Meta Knight could see that his darker side had not given up. Dark Meta Knight's eyes gazed towards him in hatred.

"You are unfit as the Black Angel of the prophecy, as the Prince of Demonbeasts. I think that you were placed as both of these by mistake. _I _should have been the one to take them. You still are the same cowardly child you were from the day you were created. You still are the same from that day…still running from your fears and everything you never wanted to admit."

"No, you're wrong," Meta Knight said slowly, standing up to face Dark Meta Knight. "I understand myself now…I understand my anger…I understand my sadness, by pain, my jealousy, my fears…my shame…I understand that I wished for the pain of everyone else, to suffer as badly as I had, I understand that I even for a while, was envious of the life of my own friends, wanting their memories of happiness more than anything and that I had wanted to take that away from them for myself…I understand that from my anger, it nearly cost my own son's life…I understand that I was ready to give up on my life from my grief…"

Then, Meta Knight closed his eyes, letting out his breath.

"But you are wrong. I accept all of those emotions as a part of me; I accept that I too had the same negative feelings as everyone else…You no longer have power over me!"

Meta Knight turned to Meta, who nodded as his eyes glowed white. Hand in hand, they leapt forwards, both rippling with a powerful wave of energy that ran through their blood. Then, with a final surge of power, they threw every last drop of their power at Dark Meta Knight, the blast of fire and electricity sending Dark Meta Knight flying into the air, smashing into a dormant gas tank.

Meta Knight looked at his hands, which glowed with its restored power. His wings…they were flying again!  
Then slowly, he turned to Meta who looked back at him.

Strange feelings were churned up in the younger dark blue puffball. Something was oddly familiar about this blue knight, more than just the skin color and leathery bat wings. He felt closer and somehow, loved. He did not want to ever let go of the feeling.

Dark Meta Knight slowly raised his body out of the pile of soot and ash. His arms shook as he looked forwards before he collapsed, only one hand keeping his body up. His body was fading away like sand blowing in the wind. His wings disappeared the first, followed by his back and his feet. Lifting one hand cupping a mound of ash within it, he watched as the ash fell as his hands began disappearing.

The others came up behind Meta Knight and his younger self, stopping to see the trembling figure. Clara, now awake, came up to Meta Knight's side.

"I…I lost…"

Both Meta Knight and Meta landed, the older version of the knight taking Clara's hand and leading her away.

"Let's go," He said quietly.

They began walking away when Dark Meta Knight suddenly looked up, gold eyes facing Clara.

"C…Clara…don't…forget about…me…" He said before the rest of his body vanished, leaving not one trace of the dark figure.

Clara stood there, unable to speak or move. Meta Knight held her in his arms, eyes softening.

"M…Meta Knight…"She began. "H…he…he wasn't evil…all h…he wanted…was love…"

"I know…but for him, he would never understand it," Meta Knight answered.

No one said anything before Meta slowly looked up towards Kirby. No one had noticed as his body began shaking, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I…I guess it's time for me…to go…"

Kirby bit down on his lip, unable to find words to say. His blue eyes widened as Meta suddenly wrapped his arms around him, crying into his chest.

"I…I don't want to go back to Nightmare!" He cried out. "I want to stay with you guys forever!"

Kirby tried to work his way out of Meta's powerful grip but found no escape.

"It'll be alright…You'll eventually escape from him…It won't be forever."

Meta's sad gold eyes looked at him.

"Y…you don't know what it's like…to be unloved…I…I wanted to know…what it's like…to have a family that cares about you…will you…be my father?"

Kirby stopped. The same shocked expression ran through each and every one of the group excluding the shaking dark blue puffball. For Meta, he did not understand what the true meaning of 'father' was, but seeing the loving tie between Kirby and Meta Knight, all through the simple word of 'father', he wanted badly to have the same love more than anything.

Kirby looked at him, too stunned to speak.

_He can't…because…he's MY father!_

Meta Knight took the issue into his hands. Kneeling down, he gently placed a glove on Meta's shoulder.

"He's right. It won't be forever. You have to be strong…for the both of us."

Meta buried his face into Kirby's chest deeper.

"How would you know that?" He said, words muffled. "Who are you?"

Slowly, Meta Knight stood up, the others watching as he unstrapped his mask, revealing his face.

"I am you."

Meta looked up, eyes widening as he stood back to see his older self. He opened his mouth, letting it hang open. Meta Knight smiled stretching his wings out behind him.

"Nightmare is not as powerful as you think. You can still best him. You eventually will have a foster mother, a wife, and later a son. You have to be strong."

Meta slowly let go of Kirby, walking towards Meta Knight. Meta Knight opened his arms up, picking up his younger self. It was strange to be holding himself as if he was his son. He remembered holding Kirby the same way when the pink puffball wanted some comfort.

"But how?" Meta asked, new tears forming around his eyes.

"I can't tell you that. You will have to find a way yourself. You will, you just have to trust yourself."

Lololo and Lalala came up behind Meta, placing their hands on his shoulders gently.

"_We'll be there for you, Prince. We'll escape together, we promise you that."_

Meta looked over the two in curiosity.

"Category: B257…status: 0.42…identification number: 25931835…project name: …"

He blinked.

"You're the same! You both have the same project number…but how can…?"

"We were split in half," Lalala laughed.

"I'm surprised you can remember our full classification." Lololo said.

Meta Knight had to laugh a little.

"I've already forgotten the classification of most of the demonbeasts…too many numbers."

Kirby came up to Meta, looking straight into his eyes.

"It's time to go."

Meta Knight let go of his younger self and Meta walked towards Kirby, turning back to look at his older self.

"Do I really escape?"

"Would I lie to myself?" Meta Knight said gently. "I promise you that you'll escape. You have to do this for the both of us."

Meta slowly nodded, turning back to Kirby. Kamira floated down to Meta, a faint smile on her face.

"I'll see you soon…Mety…somewhere in the past…"

Kirby took hold of Meta's hands.

"You ready?"

Meta did not say anything but grasped Kirby's hands tighter.

Kirby closed his eyes, focusing on his power. He felt the air around him rush past him, suddenly becoming cold. Meta's hand tightened holding on to him with wide eyes as he watched the room melt away, replaced with glowing lights.

Opening his eyes again, Kirby found that they were not in the Time Zone, but rather floating above a vortex of light that lazily drifted past. Before them was complete whiteness, leading back to Meta's time. He let go of Meta's hand and watched as the dark blue puffball drifted towards the light. Meta turned back.

"G…goodbye…"

Kirby smiled.

"Goodbye Dad."

* * *

Dark Meta Knight stood in the labyrinth, gazing into the shattered reflections of himself in the walls of the maze. He let out his breath slowly, turning back to gaze around the only place he knew better than anyone else.

His prison.

He had lost everything. He had failed. He had been so close to stealing away Meta Knight's body to use for himself, forcing Meta Knight himself out to take his place as a mere ghost-like figure. He had wanted desperately to be free and no one would grant him that wish.

He brought a glove to his face, tears streaming down from his mask. He could no longer hold back all the negative emotions Meta Knight had throughout his entire life. They all came out at once. Anger, sadness, loneliness, despair…

He dropped to his hands, body shaking. His gloves closed around the ash that covered the ground, crumpling them to dust.

"Clara…d…don't…forget about…me…" He whispered, longing to see her again.

A white figure in the corner of his eye made him look up, his sad eyes turning to a fierce glare.

"You again?" He hissed. "Leave me alone. Don't you have something better to do?"

White Meta Knight stopped, slowly turning to the gray skies above the labyrinth.

"Perhaps I do…but as of now, our soul no longer needs out assistance. Sir Meta Knight has become a better man. He now only needs to return his family and friends to the Dimensional World."

Dark Meta Knight sneered.

"He won't make it. In a matter of moments, the entire tower will collapse and the gate will disappear."

"Life finds a way to continue," White Meta Knight said. "While the tower still stands and the gate remains open, there will be a way."

He turned back to the ground, slowly walking away.

"Come. There's much to talk about."

Dark Meta Knight spat out more blood.

"You can go take a walk yourself!" He snapped.

White Meta Knight did not turn back. His counterpart watched as the white figure disappeared behind a bend in the maze when suddenly, the unbearable feeling of being alone filled him. Almost as if something was strangling his heart, the loneliness was over whelming. He had no one.

Slowly, he stood up and hesitantly; he followed the waiting figure of White Meta Knight, vanishing into the labyrinth.

* * *

Kirby reappeared, this time without Meta. His father looked at him in wonder, but said nothing. There was a moment of calmness. Smiles broke out on the faces of the group, feeling relieved that the worst was over…or perhaps only the very beginning.

Suddenly, the entire room began shaking and glancing upwards, the group could see that the tower was shaking.

A column of iron metal crashed down, making the group jump back. Smaller rocks rained down on the factory, toppling over once standing structures.  
"We have to go…NOW!" Meta Knight shouted. "The tower is collapsing!"

**A/N:** Well, things went rather nice for Dark Meta Knight. Both he and White Meta Knight are no longer fighting. Meta Knight finally admitted his own mistakes and weaknesses instead of disregarding any negative emotion as his own.

Also with the numbers: 10, 19, and 87, these numbers were supposed to mark the exact date that Meta Knight died from the last chapter. Throughout Angels of Prophecy and Beyond the Mirror, the only way that anyone would know that this is all happening way into the future was the end of the human race, all in Kamira's memory. 87 does not represent _19_87! This all takes place in the future!

Poor Meta. He wanted Kirby to be his Daddy except he didn't know that _he's _Kirby's 's back in his own time and everything is ready for the final action.

The one thing that I was very determined to keep in this chapter was Meta. I wanted Meta Knight's younger self to have an important role, one where he sees all of his future self's failures come down on him and even help Meta Knight battle their darker side. But the only problem was the fact that Kirby would have to go through the entire process of saying goodbye and getting Meta back into his time even though he had already done the same thing back in the last chapter!

Please review! I highly appreciate feedback, constructive criticism in particular! ;)


	16. Chapter XVI: Fall of the Tower

**A/N: **The tower is collapsing and Kirby, Meta Knight and all of the others still have to make their way up to the top of the stairs where the gate back to the Mirror World is. The hourglass is running low but now, they are facing an even greater threat.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters besides my OCs. They belong to their respected owners. The mirror world concept belongs to Nintendo and HAL. The GSA, the Cappies, and the demonbeasts belong to Nintendo and HAL. Dreamland as well.

**-Chapter 16: Fall of the Tower-**

The moment Dark Meta Knight was defeated, the entire Dark Side shattered. The shadowy veils that streamed across the border cracked like the surface of a mirror before it broke apart. The hazy gold clouds vanished and the red skies restored to the dark blue dome over the Mirror World. The Mirror Forests shattered as the broken bits of the veil came down on them, sending sparkling particles flying into the air in a large wave that swept over the land. All of the shadow monsters melted away, freeing the trapped spirits within them to finally be reborn into the Dimensional World.

Then, with tremendous power, the black ground of the Dark Side became grassy as the rest of the Mirror World, sending ripples that bent the land to its will. Demonbeasts ran for cover as the shockwaves collapsed several of the new buildings still in mid construction before everything became still again. The demonbeasts were hesitant to come out, but soon, every last one of them was outside, cheering as the end of the curse came. Small bits of glass like pieces, highly resembling snowflakes fluttered down upon the city as if celebrating the end of Dark Meta Knight's reign over his half of the Mirror World.

Inside the Mirror Tower, the curse was lifting off of the plagued demonbeasts with the dark marks. The crystals rose up, leveling themselves with the platform before dissolving away. Fumu blinked, sitting up. She felt dizzy and weak, but somehow, she felt as if she had been with Bun and the others the entire time. While her body was desperately trying to fight off the Black Marks, she had watched as her brother bravely fight among the others as they took down the shadow beasts and had put Dark Meta Knight to a stop.

Looking at the reflection in the crystal, she gasped.

Her face was now split in half, one half the same as always, but the other covered in a reflective surface. She could no longer see out of her left eye and as she brought a hand to her head, she found that her body was patterned with the mirror-like covering. Every place the dark marks had touched was now part of a mirror.

She looked into her hands. The mirror surface was permanent. She wondered what her parents would think once they saw her.

_Speaking about Mom and Dad…I need to find Bun!_

She looked up, spotting the other demonbeasts who were awaking from their crystals. Some of them, who unfortunately had Dark Marks covering their faces had suffocated to death and still remained in their crystals, forever frozen within. Fumu turned to her right, trying to get used to seeing through only one eye. The neighboring crystal contained a giant bird-like demonbeast, much resembling a phoenix out of a book. It stretched its mirror wings out, looking over them in shock.

"Hey! You!" Fumu called.

The bird turned, blinking. Its neck was stiff with the reflective marks and it had trouble turning only its head towards her. Instead, it shifted its entire body to face her.

"I need to go find my brother and Sir Meta Knight! You're going to take me to them!"

Before the phoenix could react, she had already jumped up on to its back, taking hold of its feathers to hang on.

"Now move it!" She ordered.

As if the phoenix was a horse, she dug in the back of her feet and it flew into the air, terrified of the stern expression on her face. They burst out of the room of crystals and into the halls. The demonbeasts that were on their way to check on their infected friends threw themselves out of the way as the great, golden bird soared past them, narrowly missing the corners of the halls. The halls were small and the phoenix had to twist and turn its body to continue its fast rate. Fumu could see that the flying was actually helping the bird loosen up its stiff neck, giving it more of an incentive to keep flying.

They flew down the tower, knocking furniture out of the way until they reached the main floor. The grand doors of the tower were closing behind a small group of demonbeasts and they ducked as the phoenix flew over head.

Fumu could feel the bird slow down, realizing that they might not make it to fly through the closing gap of the door and she climbed up closer to its head.

"Keep going!" She shouted.

With a final surge, the phoenix folded its glittering wings and they sailed straight up and out the door, its tail feathers just missing getting caught between the heavy mirror doors. Fumu looked behind her, laughing as the phoenix flew up over the tops of the buildings, creating a long arch in the air.

She turned towards the collapsing tower in the distance, only the fragile mirror stair case within the second half of the tower still standing. Fumu gripped the phoenix's feathers tighter.

"Bun! Wait for me! I'm coming!"

* * *

The group sailed up the first steps of the mirror stairs, ground shaking under them. With no railing on the sides, they were dangerously close to slipping off the only platform in the long tower. They pressed themselves as close as possible to the stone arches, although the rock did not hold the promise of holding their form as the rest of the tower crumbled away. The tower was made up of several layers of arches, one after the other with a wide circular platform marking the midpoint. Above, the tower's stairs reached through the tear in the sky, into the Dimensional World.

Outside, the group could see through the tower's arches as the Border's shadowy veils shattered as easily as glass. The fragments rained down on to the Mirror Forests, sending a wave of dust clouds filled with the reflective particles. The red, hazy skies faded into the sunset dome of the rest of the Mirror World, the black fields replaced by grassy ones.

Clara slowed to a halt, gasping for breath as she placed a hand on the wall for support. The others turned, stopping as well. She forced herself to not show her pain.

"I'm f…fine…I'll c…catch up…"

Without the slightest sign of hesitation, Meta Knight came running down the stairs from his place at the front of the group, nearly knocking the others out of the way and he lifted Clara up into his arms, forcing a gasp out of her as he ran straight back up, the others running behind him.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, making their eyes dizzy to watch as Meta Knight got further and further ahead of the rest in his frantic sprint. The only sense of progress they could make was by seeing the bottom of the tower many floors below them and the fields outside stretching out before them. Finally, they reached the midpoint. Collapsing on to the platform, they looked up above them to see the encouraging sight of Dreamland's skies in the small circle that formed the top of the tower.

Suddenly, the entire tower shook, the stone vibrating under their feet. They dropped to their hands when a great thunderous blast sounded. Meta Knight's eyes flashed orange as the realization came to him.

"Grab on to something!"

The group cried out as the base of the tower caved inwards at a slant. They slid across, barely managing to catch hold of the arches and wrapping their arms around them tightly. Meta Knight unfolded his wings swiftly, wrapping both Kirby and Clara close to him as he grabbed on to the tower. Then, with a long, wailing moan, the tower fell apart. Faster and faster the air around them came past. Lololo, Lalala, and Tokkori clung on to Dedede's robes for dear life as they lifted into the air, soon the penguin himself lifting off of the platform. Bun and Blade linked arms, Blade holding on to the arch by his fingertips as the wind swept them up.

The ground seemed to eat up the tower, the once sturdy stone structure now shooting down like an insane elevator on a one way trip to the Underworld.

Kirby felt Meta Knight tighten his protective hold around him and his mother, wings closing further around them. Rocks fell from above, slamming into the platform and breaking off into the darkness below. Then with a heavy, rumbling shudder, the group hit the platform's cracked stone upon impact, rubble piling around them.

The air was still before the group slowly aroused themselves, pulling their friends out of the ruins. The only sound besides their efforts to free themselves from the wreckage was the sobs of Clara, shaking with terror. Meta Knight held her shivering body close to him, slowly bringing his gaze to the gate far above them.

"The stairs…they won't reach the gate now…it's too far away…"

The others looked up to realize the same thing. Now, the tower only stood half as tall as it bad been as well as slanted, nowhere close to reaching the shining tear in the sky that once held a promising hope.

A wave of defeat swept over the group. Clara choked in deeper breaths of air, calming herself as she slowly took out the hourglass with a trembling hand. Only a thin trickle of sand remained within the glass. The hourglass was at its final countdown.

"It…it's over…" Escargon murmured.

Bun was pushing away a large chunk of rock off his bruised body when his scabbard began vibrating urgently. He reached down to unsheathe his sword and Kamira burst out of the sword, eyes serious.

"What are you all doing? Giving up? We're not done yet!" She exclaimed.

She hovered above Bun's sword, raising her hands. Sir Arthur's, SailorDee's, Jecra's, and Garlude's spirits floated up as well, coming side by side with the swordswoman.

"Come out! It's about time we spirits break free from this place and do something for a change!"

Bun gasped as his sword shook with power when suddenly; it erupted, the lost souls that the group had rescued throughout their time in the Mirror World, bursting out of its blade to answer Kamira's call.

Kamira hovered out of the way, turning back to the others.

"Keep going! The gate isn't that far away!"

Picking themselves up, they continued to climb what remained of the stairs, leaping over the gaps and towards the top of the tower. The tower's stairs began coming to a tighter circle as they came towards the peak until finally, they clambered up onto the tower's balcony platform, a great mass of spirits forming a wide sphere in the air above them.

Then, one by one, the spirits shot out like comets towards the tower, turning themselves into floating blocks to finish the stairs. Meta Knight turned to look at Kamira in surprise, the spirit of the swordswoman winking at him.

The group ran up the new set of stairs, the spirits forming the blocks before them. The blocks were glass like with the same glow of the spirits, multiple colors swirling within them which became more intense as the group treaded over them.

"BUN!"

They all turned, still making their way up the stairs to see the figure of a friend they hadn't seen for almost the entire trip in the Mirror World. Perched on top of a dazzling, golden phoenix was Fumu, waving her arms. The phoenix flew in, flying up to the blocks in the air and Fumu leapt off its back, reuniting with her brother.

"Sis! What happened to you?" He exclaimed, taking a better look at her mirror-covered body.

Fumu smiled slightly, looking at her reflective arms as she ran alongside him.

"I guess the Dark Marks become mirrorized once the curse is lifted."

Before long, they were finally at the tear in the sky, the way home. Kamira, SailorDee, Sir Arthur, Garlude, and Jecra looked down to see that the stairs were still lacking five more blocks. Taking a deep breath, they transformed, laying the final blocks as the last steps to the gate.

The phoenix landed beside the Lola twins, standing back away from the gate to give the others room. Kirby had to smile. They made it! Through all of the hardships of their journey, they had made it through, lift the curse off of the demonbeasts and unite the Mirror World as a whole. It was not until he saw the glistening tears on his mother's face that the feelings of triumph disappear. Her gaze met Meta Knight's as he brought a glove to her face, gently wiping away her tears. His hand traced through her silk-like hair as he held her close to him.

"T…this is the l…last time…is it?" Clara said quietly.

"No, I…I promise you, Clara…I'll…" He replied, voice faltering. "This won't be the last time. We'll see each other again, next time though, I promise that we'll be together without the pressure of time…"

Her eyes looked at him, hopeful yet already accepting the truth. There was no way her husband was going to be able to keep his promise. She closed her eyes, burying her face against his shoulder plate, renewed tears flowing from her eyes.

Suddenly, Meta Knight took the hourglass from her, nearly having a heart attack as he watched the last flew flecks of sand make their way down the narrow channel. He grabbed her arm, eyes desperate before he ran towards the gate and pushed Clara through. She gasped out before she was on the other side, now free falling in the open air.

"Mom!" Kirby shouted, running towards the edge.

He stopped at the last moment, realizing that there was no platform on the other side. The gate was hundreds of feet above Dreamland!

Meta Knight, sensing his hesitation snatched his arm forcefully. Kirby kicked and struggled, his body becoming tense. Picking him up, Meta Knight closed his eyes and threw his son out of the Mirror World. He turned to the others, discovering that his work had to be done faster, now with the rest trying to avoid being pushed out.

They watched as he transformed into his true from, the black dragon appearing in the air. Then, with he rammed his head into the stairs, knocking his friends forward. They stumbled towards the gate and fell through.

Lololo picked up the fallen hourglass as the final sand fell. He looked up to see the gate beginning to close up. Lalala took the other end of the chain and together, they threw it just as the tear sealed itself, disappearing completely as if it had never been there in the first place.

Relieved that if just in case the hourglass too had to be brought back into the Dimensional World, they turned to Meta Knight to see his figure sprawled across the stairs, serpent body trailing around the spiral formation with his head near the very top blocks. Bloody demonbeasts tears were flowing from his eyes, body shaking. They could hear his sobs through their mind.

"_S…she isn't going to forgive me for pushing her straight into thin air like that…neither will Kirby…"_

"Cheer up, Prince," Lalala said gently. "They'll understand. You were just trying to make sure they made it through before the gate closed.

"_But what of now? None of them can fly! I have sent both my son and wife, not to mention everyone else to their deaths!"_

Kamira's voice rang out from the block she had transformed into, under Meta Knight's head.

"_I think not. I sense that they will find a way."_

The spirits began transforming back, one by one into the form of glowing orbs. Meta Knight was forced to get up and to fly into the air, the two Lola twins and the phoenix coming up with him.

"_Well, Mety. It's time for all of us spirits to go. If it wouldn't be too much of a hassle, free the rest of the spirits in the Spirit Hall back in the Mirror Tower. It's time that we all were reborn as the next generation."_

Meta Knight circled around her orb, eyes glowing dark blue.

"_Mom…I don't want you to leave!"_

Kamira's orb floated up towards his head, landing gently on his face.

"_You don't need me anymore, Mety. You're a full grown man now. You have Lololo and Lalala to be your advisors and the rest of your people here with you. Farewell, Mety…maybe one day, my reincarnated form will see you again. Take care…"_

Her form floated up and Meta Knight watched as her orb, along with the thousands of others join together as a great sphere of light in the sky, returning to the Dimensional World.

Jecra and Garlude were next to come.

"_See you Meta," _Jecra said._ "It's been quite an adventure, even after death!"_

"_And watch over Sirica," _Garlude added. _"She will make a strong addition to the GSA."_

Finally, Sir Arthur and SailorDee came to say their farewells. SailorDee did not say anything but he spiraled around Meta Knight's figure before he too joined the great mass of spirits. Sir Arthur floated before his eyes, the orb giving a soft glow.

"_I trust you to protect my daughter for as long as you live. I trust Kirby as well to be a great leader for the GSA. Watch over them, Sir Meta Knight, and allow me to rest easy."_

The black dragon watched as the spirit of the former military leader joined the spirits and together, they vanished into the sky, forever gone. Inside, he felt empty. Everyone was gone. His family, his friends…he was isolated. A sudden tap on his head made him look up at Lololo and Lalala who were hanging over him, reminding him that he was not completely alone.

"Prince, perhaps we can watch them through the Central Mirror. We feel it too; the others will find a way."

Slowly, Meta Knight's gold eyes widened. He had forgotten about the Central Mirror and now, more than anything, he wanted to be assured of the safety of the others.

With a surge of power, Meta Knight's wings beat down and he flew towards the Mirror Tower in the distance.

Many of the demonbeasts were already at the Central Mirror, crowded in the rather small top level of the Mirror Tower. They turned as the great black dragon appeared in the distance. With powerful flaps of his wing, the demonbeasts could feel the wind along their backs as they bowed down in respect. The knight transformed back into his original form, running forward towards the mirror as his people made a passage for him. He stepped up onto the small circular platform where the glimmering mirror floated above and pressed his hands to the glass.

* * *

Kirby, Fumu, Bun, and all the others were falling. Wind whipped past their faces as they continued to plummet downwards. Clara was screaming at the top of her lungs, her bandages wildly flapping in the air along with her cape. She was already further down than the rest of them, being the first to be pushed out of the Mirror World. Dedede along with Blade were catching up to her, being heavier with added armor and weight.

They passed through a thick cloud, icy crystals clinging to their faces. Kirby looked up, now facing the land below them. They were hundreds of feet above Dreamland, the top of the castle only a small box in the distance.

Nothing was going to stop their fall before they hit the ground.

Kirby kicked in the air, trying to keep his body from spinning wildly as he fell. If only he could think!

Even with his friends' shouts and cries, he forced himself to block out all sounds, concentrating hard. He thought back to everything his father had said, trying to remember anything that was possibly of use.

He broke through another cloud, shivering violently as he passed through the freezing air.

_Think! THINK!_

He spiraled through the air, the land dizzily rotating below him. Easily, he could have thrown up, but he forced himself to try to clear his mind. Slowly and gently, memories came back to him. He remembered the calm figure of White Meta Knight, suddenly recalling fragments of what he had said.

"_Wings…travel through time…time streams…"_

Kirby snapped his eyes shut, holding his hands over his eyes as he curled tighter.

_No! What did he say exactly? I can't remember!_

He reopened his eyes, feeling weak and helpless. As his eyes scanned the dome of blue before they came across the bright orb of the sun. He squinted, the intense light hurting his eyes. He turned away when it suddenly hit him. His eyes widened as he heard White Meta Knight's voice repeat itself in his mind.

"_Those wings, you have them to travel through time. Instead of taking you to the skies, they take you to the time zones and its time streams. Had you not had these wings, you would not be standing here. In the form you are in now, they can do nothing else…_"

"In the form you are in now…" Kirby repeated slowly.

He turned to look at his wings when he suddenly realized the meaning of what White Meta Knight had said. Kirby looked back to the land that was now drawing closer.

_But I can't! I don't know how…_

He felt something in his mind slap him for thinking that.

_Do it now! For Mom and the others!_

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling the new, unfamiliar power that ran through his blood, ripple through him.

* * *

"Prince!" Lololo and Lalala called at once. "Kirby! He's-"

They stopped, unable to speak as all the demonbeasts watched their Prince's son begin to glow brighter and brighter. The sun in the image behind Kirby was now becoming less intense as the falling pink Star Warrior. Meta Knight stubbornly did not turn away although his eyes hurt. He was not about to miss one second of what was happening to his son.

Then, with the majesty and grace of his own true form, Kirby's true wings opened, unfolding from around his silhouette and stretching in a wide, brilliant arch around him. Feathers fluttered around him as he raised his long, serpent neck, tilting his dragon head back and released a thunderous roar that was noiseless to those watching from the Central Mirror, but deafening to all of Dreamland.

The light began to fade away and Meta Knight could see the shock in the falling figures of his friends who looked up to see the new silver dragon.

Almost like a mix between his father and Galacta Knight, Kirby had the head and form of his father, yet the strong, feathery wings of the White Angel's ancestors. His scales finished forming; now his own suit of armor that caught the glint of the sun like golden raindrops. His light blue eyes turned down towards his friends and with a surge of new power, Kirby shot forwards towards his friends.

Meta Knight suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder plate, making him turn. Customer Service stood behind him, smirking as usual but with a softer feel.

"Kirby has matured considerably since less than a year ago, hasn't he?"

Meta Knight found himself crying again, this time with happiness and pride. He did not even bother to wipe away the stream of red that flowed across his mask, a wide smile making its way across his face.

He was about to turn back to the mirror and see the rest of what was happening when every demonbeast on the platform came to a hush. Meta Knight watched as the entire glass fogged up, becoming as black as the backing of a mirror. A long crack broke through its flawless surface, cutting the mirror into broken fragments.

For a moment, Meta Knight could not move. He stood there, unable to speak as well. Suddenly, there were several frantic footsteps when more demonbeasts appeared on the platform, all of them of which he recognized as healers.

"Prince! You're injured! You need medical attention at once!"

"How long have you been dehydrated? Someone get a tankard of blood for him right now!"

They surrounded him, securing their arms around him. He kicked and pulled away from them, fighting with every last ounce of strength he still had. He knocked aside the first healer, only to be forced down on to the platform by two more.

They dragged him away from the mirror, his prying hands reaching longingly for it.

"KIRBY!" He shouted.

Customer Service walked up to one of the healers, whispering something in an inaudible tone to anyone else. The demonbeast nodded, leading the other healers to drag Meta Knight back into the Mirror Tower. With a sudden surge of strength, he freed his arms away. He scrambled forwards looking towards the Lola twins for support when his begging look faded away as they shook their heads.

"Prince, you _are _injured. The healers will take care of you and everything will be okay. Kirby has everything taken care of."

Meta Knight did not move as the medics took hold of him once again, dragging his limp body away from the mirror, his eyes never leaving the blackened mirror.

_K…Kirby… _

* * *

Kirby stopped, hearing his father's words echoing through his mind.

"_K…Kirby…"_

He had heard it, though Meta Knight was nowhere in sight.

"_DAD!" _Kirby shouted through his mind, his words becoming a rumbling roar.

Down in Dreamland, the Cappies and soldiers that were up in the early morning light, stopped what they were doing to gaze up into the sky. Their eyes widened as they saw the shimmering figure of the silver dragon among the clouds.

Sgt. Kit Cosmo made his way forward, bringing his hand up over his eyes as he squinted.

"I'd bet my life on it that it's either Kirby or Sir Meta Knight flying around up there."

He turned to an unfortunate soldier who had happened to be standing to close by.

"You, Sir! Go rouse the medics and see if they need help once they get here! NOW!" He barked.

Kirby dove forwards, beating his powerful wings to catch up with his falling friends. He spiraled around them, scooping them up one by one on to his back and along his neck, carefully being sure not to crush them in his newfound strength.

Now, only Clara was left. Her hair and cape fluttered wildly around her as her wide eyes watched her son turn towards her.

Kirby moved his tail towards her, carefully coiling around her while slowing her descent, finally bringing her to a stop while putting no pressure against her unborn baby still in her womb.

She looked up at the silver dragon, slowly smiling as Kirby lifted her up on to his back between Fumu and Bun who helped ease her in.

Kirby grinned. How proud his father would be to see that he too could take on the form of a dragon. A sudden thought stopped him.

_But he's not here. He won't ever come back! He said it himself that he wouldn't._

The happiness from his face faded away. Trying not to think about the promise his father would never be able to keep, he looked back to his mother in the corner of his eyes. She needed to get medical attention immediately. There was no time to waste.

Sadly, Kirby looked up towards the tear in the sky that had long closed, once a gate to a world beyond the mirror. Then, he turned back, flying down to the grassy fields of Dreamland, heart heavy.

**A/N: **Final chapter coming up next!

So now Kirby has finally seen himself in his true form, a silver dragon. I made him the Half Angel, not because half his blood is from Meta Knight, but because he kind of fits in between the Black and White Angels, having power over time rather than an element like fire or ice or something.

For the rest of the infected demonbeasts along with Fumu, the Dark Marks have finally mirrorized and they will no longer be at stake of dying. I can't remember the last time Fumu was mentioned, but she finally is back with the group. It sounds kind of mean, but…I wouldn't have minded too much if she _had _ended up dying. She certainly isn't my favorite character. Sorry Fumu! ;)

Please review!


	17. Chapter XVII: Farewells

**A/N:** FINAL CHAPTER!

The group now is waiting as Clara gives birth to the baby finally. I do realize how fake it was for Clara to get pregnant so fast (usually it takes about a couple of weeks or something) and even be ready to give birth a few days later. I'm just going to imagine that the puffball species go through that whole process a lot faster than humans do, like A LOT.

And now that I think about it, Kirby hasn't eaten nearly as much as he would have liked throughout the entire adventure in the Mirror World. How in the world could that possibly happen? How much food will Kawasaki have left for his restaurant after Kirby's finished?

Anyway, enjoy the final chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters except for my OCs. Everyone else belongs to their respected owners.

**-Chapter 17: Farewells-**

Kirby, Fumu, Bun, and all of the others stood in the waiting room of Yabui's place. Yabui himself had been kicked out of his office after one of the mother Cappies took charge of helping deliver Clara's baby and he sulked in the corner, arms crossed over his white lab coat.

Until now, Kirby had really given much thought about the baby and now, he pondered over the word 'brother'.

_Brother…now it's such a strange word…_

Yabui muttered something, taking his glasses off and wiping them to take his mind off of things. Kirby could understand why he would be unhappy: he was Dreamland's only doctor, yet no one ever wanted him to actually operate on them. Being a terrible doctor, Yabui probably would have been a terrible choice out of anyone to help deliver the newborn baby.

In the other room, they heard Clara scream out in pain, gasping for breath. Kirby suddenly felt worried.

_She's been through so much…what if something bad happens to my new brother…or sister?_

Before he knew it, it was all over. Nothing could be heard from the other room. Then, the cappy appeared, peering out from behind the door.

"Hey, you can come to see her!" She called out. "Though a smaller group may be better…she's extremely tired."

Kirby, Fumu, Bun, Tokkori, and Sirica all got up, leaving the rest of the group in the waiting room and almost hesitantly at first, disappeared into the other room.

Clara was sitting upright in the bed she was in, looking up from the bundle of white sheets that she held carefully in her arms. Kirby held his breath as she smiled, pulling down the sheets to let them all see.

It was a girl. Her dark blue body and purple feet held the resemblance to her father and her body moved up and down with every steady breath. Kirby walked forward, leaning against the bed side to see his new sister.

"S…she's beautiful…isn't she?" Clara asked softly.

Kirby nodded. Then, she opened her eyes. Her bright, gold eyes looked up at him. She slowly opened her hand, reaching forward. Kirby held his hand out and allowed her to explore the new world around her, curiously feeling her brother's hand.

Fumu smiled as she looked at Bun.

"Kind of reminds me of when you were a baby. You were actually kind of cute then."

Bun nudged his sister. He was about to reply when Clara, looking up at Kirby, asked,

"Oh! I…I don't even h…have a name for her!

The group began pondering over a name for the small puffball. Clara looked back at her daughter, gently holding the dark blue ball closer to her. Kirby tried to put together name, only getting the first sounds out.

"Me…uh…Ann…Meena!"

The others looked at him when Clara suddenly smiled.

"M…Meena…I l…like it."

The Cappy walked over, smiling.

"I think Meena is a great name for her. But right now, Clara needs to rest. How about if we give her some time alone with Meena while you guys go back to Cappy Town? All of the soldiers and Cappies are simply _dying _to hearabout the trip. Did you know that you guys have only been gone for about three days? I guess the time passes by here more slowly than it does in the Mirror World."

Kirby was about to say something when his stomach groaned. How empty it felt! He could not remember the last time he had eaten enough to satisfy his stomach. Fumu laughed.

"Looks like we're going to meet up at Kawasaki's restaurant, huh?"

Kirby smiled but he and the others in the room exited, leaving Clara to take a much needed nap.

* * *

A feeling of content filled Kirby as he wolfed down the mountains of food piled before him. His appetite had not changed in the slightest and being the equivalent of starved for most of the trip in the Mirror World worsened it. Kawasaki was busy in the kitchen, trying to keep up with Kirby until at last, Kirby put down the last plate down, close to being satisfied.

He leaned back in his chair just as Sgt. Kit Cosmos entered the restaurant.

"Ah, glad to see you all back in Dreamland!" He said before turning to Kirby. "How was it? Did you see your father?"

"Yeah, my Dad was there and he helped get us back home," Kirby answered simply.

"Good to hear," He said, sitting down with the others at the table. "I have to comment though that your return to Dreamland was stunning. Just like your father, eh?"

Kirby tried to smile but found it disappear. A cold wind seemed to have swept over him as he felt his body shiver in sadness. Sgt. Kit Cosmos sensed it, immediately closing his mouth in a silent regret to have mentioned it.

Kawasaki came panting, holding up the last few dishes.

"Well, these are my last plates, but I know how much you love my curry!"

He layed it down before Kirby, expecting to see the young Star Warrior's face lighten, but Kirby sat there, not moving. Kawasaki frowned, worried that his best customer was displeased.

"Did I do something wrong?"

His voice was faraway. It echoed over and over again in Kirby's mind, but did not register. He suddenly stood up, paid the bill, and left.

He left, without saying one word, the others watching him leave.

Kirby was running. The wind whipped past his face as he ran. He needed to get away from the others, to be alone. He pressed on, thinking about what Sgt. Kit Cosmo had said.

_I…I'm not like my father…he would have been able to get everyone back safely…I…I failed…_

He made his way through the streets, running out of Cappy Town and out into the wide open fields. His wings opened from under his cape, the feathers reflecting the pale light of the moon.

The grass was up to his face and he continued running, now closer to his destination. Finally, standing on a field far away from the lights of the town, he was back on the same field where Meta Knight had opened the gate to the Mirror World, where he had left Dreamland and never came back.

He stood there, looking over the trampled grass that was growing new stalks from where the thousands of demonbeasts had marched over it.

He stood in the field without moving, the flashes of memories flying past his eyes. He thought about White Meta Knight, remembering how his words had guided him and his surviving friends safely back. He turned up to the sky, a faint smile forming on his face as the stars above him glimmered.

He watched as lights began swarming around him, circling faster and faster as his wings began to glow. He felt the familiar presence of the silver dragon run through his blood, flying forward, unstoppable.

_I'm sorry Dad, but I've got to do this. I'm going back to save my friends._

* * *

Kirby blinked, feeling dizzy suddenly. He tried to reach forward, forwards towards the voices. He was lost in darkness, unable to find his way. Where was he? What was happening?

"Ah, glad to see you all back in Dreamland! How was it? Did you see your father?"

He blinked, feeling his consciousness slam back into his body. The world came into focus and Kirby found himself seated at the table with food piled in front of him back at Kawasaki's restaurant. He was looking at Sgt. Kit Cosmos who had just entered the restaurant.

He sat there, unable to comprehend the question. His mouth moved, as if tracing words, but no sound came out. He was looking at his friends. But now something was different.

He was looking at all of his friends, a larger and more complete group.

Fumu, Bun, Tokkori, Dedede and Escargon. Sword, Blade, Knuckle Joe and Sirica. SailorDee, Sir Arthur, Kamira, Jecra, and Garlude. All of them were looking at him strangely as he suddenly stopped eating, staring blankly at them.

"Is everything alright?" Knuckle Joe asked. "You look like you could fall over any second!"

A smile broke out on Kirby's face and he had to retain himself from leaping into the air, laughing.

_I…I did it! The others…they're all alive!_

Faintly, he could recall going back into time and stopping each and every one of the deaths of his friends. He had gone even as far back to Jecra and Garlude's deaths, keeping them safe and alive. By moving the frozen figures of his friends like mere toys, he had changed the placement of his friends at specific times, preventing their deaths from ever occurring.

He stopped, breathing heavily from happiness. They would never understand, but he alone, would keep the secret.

Sgt. Kit Cosmos came up to Sir Arthur, still watching Kirby.

"Is he…okay?" He said quietly.

"I have _no _idea!" Sir Arthur murmured back

Kirby stopped, trying to act as normal as possible.

"I…I'm sorry. I just…forgot how much I missed eating." He lied.

Sir Arthur blinked, but then turned back to Sgt. Kit Cosmos.

"Status report on the troops," He ordered.

"In top shape, Sir!" Sgt. Kit Cosmos said, saluting to the former GSA leader.

The sergeant sat down at the same table with everyone else, telling about the rigorous training he had put the GSA soldiers through.

"Wow. A few hundred pushups first thing in the morning followed by a five mile jog and sparring practice seems like a lot…" Jecra commented. "Not all of us are as physically strong as you are, Sergeant."

Sgt. Kit Cosmos laughed.

"I have to admit though, that a lot of them complained on the first day, but now all of them are back into shape, just like how they were back during the War."

"But is there really going to be more wars? I thought it would be all over with Nightmare gone." Sirica said with a surprised look on her face.

"The universe is never going to be at total peace," Knuckle Joe said, turning to his sister. "No matter what, there's going to be fights and tension. It's the way people are."

"Well said," Sir Arthur remarked. "Though Nightmare will one day return if there is enough hate in the universe, if we can keep those levels under control, Nightmare will be too weak to expand his empire as far as he had."

"So Nightmare cannot truly be ever destroyed…" Escargon said.

"Does that mean that he can never be defeated?" Dedede asked.

"No. At that, you are wrong," Sir Arthur said, turning to the penguin. "Nightmare _can _be brought down, but the future generations must continue to fight him. Nightmare has been defeated several times since the time his reign over the emptiness of space ended with the creation of life. However, I don't believe his empire will ever become as massive and powerful as it had been for generations to come. The people of the universe need to see that there is a new leader of the GSA, that there is hope."

Outside, it was already dark with the moon and stars shining down brightly upon Dreamland. Tokkori yawned.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm about ready to fall asleep."

The others agreed and they all stood up, ready to leave. Kirby thanked Kawasaki, paying the bill, before Sir Arthur walked over to him.

"Kirby, would you come with me, there is one last thing I wish to speak to you about before I fully retire as leader of the GSA."

Perplexed, Kirby followed him outside, the cool night air brushing his face. He and Sir Arthur walked in silence, until the former GSA leader came to a stop at a cliff side, overlooking the glittering ocean.

"As leader, you will find yourself constantly dealing with one problem after another, whether it is a supply shortage, a fight that broke out, or the actual war itself. Sometimes, there will be points when everything seems hopeless, that the war is impossible to win. There will be times when your own men will lose faith in you. There will be times when you yourself will lose faith in your abilities and decisions. No matter the circumstances, never ever give up. As long as there is life, there is hope and with hope, there is an end to all those hard times. Never forget that. I have forgotten that myself many times when I stood as leader of the GSA."

Kirby smiled.

"I won't."

Sir Arthur turned to face the great, glowing sphere in the sky.

"I was surprised when your father turned down my offer to give him this position," He said slowly. "But now, I think I finally understand. Your father deals with the hardships of looking after the demonbeasts and the anger from the rest of the universe…"

Then, Sir Arthur chuckled quietly.

"He dealt with my anger too when I was trying to protect Clara…when I didn't know the truth about Galacta Knight…I get too strong on my opinions sometimes…I find it strange that now look at demonbeasts differently than I used to. Your father is a remarkable man."

"Do you really think we _will _ever see him again? I keep thinking that he only promised that we would just to get us out of the Mirror World before it was too late."

Sir Arthur put his arm around Kirby, his pale green eyes softening.

"I'm sure he will, in some way or another. Just be patient."

* * *

"Well, this is it…" Escargon said slowly, holding the most vital wire of the Delivery Machine in his hands.

A few days had passed since their return to the Dimensional World and the group, rather in a sad procession, stood in Dedede's throne room around the destroyed teleporter.

None of them felt eager to see it, especially for Kirby. It kept reminding him of the promise that Meta Knight was supposed to keep. With the passing of each day, it seemed less and less likely that he would ever see his father again.

Escargon exhaled and carefully placed the wire in between the pliers, ready to cut through it when the throne room's TV turned on. Everyone jumped back as sparks rained down as the screen flickered. It came into focus to reveal Customer Service's usual smirk.

"Long time no see," He greeted them. "Lots of things have changed, huh?"

"You again?" Fumu called out. "I thought we were rid of you!"

Customer Service laughed before pushing his glasses higher up on his nose bridge.

"Hey, I'm just the salesguy. I'm not the President of the new company."

"New…company?"

"Did you see our new logo?"

Customer Service stepped to the side to reveal the familiar symbol that was printed across the back wall. Kirby's eyes brightened as soon as he saw the same 'M' with the sword through it.

Suddenly, the ear bud on Customer Service began buzzing and he brought a hand to it to listen. Then, he straightened up and turned back to the others standing in the throne room.

"The new President of Nightmare Enterprises urgently requests to speak to you."

Pressing a button on the control panel before him, Customer Service's face disappeared, replaced by the figure of Meta Knight. He was bandaged heavily, almost completely covered by the strips of cloth. He was lying on a large, plush bed with dark red pillows behind him, propping up his limp wings which were tied down to a splint. His arm was resting against the pillow, hand drumming upon it in anxiety. His tired, gold eyes widened the minute he saw his family and friends. But more specifically, his eyes were on his wife.

"Clara!" He exclaimed, straightening up.

Clara stepped away from the others towards closer to the screen. She smiled as she looked at the face of her husband. Then, she gently pulled back the sheets from the bundle she carried. Baby Meena looked up to see her father for the very first time.

Meta Knight gasped, leaning his face forward to get a better look at his new daughter.

"S…she's beautiful…" He breathed, eyes glowing.

The others watched as a long stream of bright red flowed down the side of the mask. He wiped his tears of relief and happiness away with the back of his glove, turning back to Clara.

"I…I was so afraid that after everything that happened in the Mirror World, she wouldn't be born…w…what's her name? Have you already decided?"

"H…her name is Meena. Kirby…named…her."

"Meena…" Meta Knight repeated, eyes glowing a light blue.

Kirby stepped forward, facing his father.

"Dad, so what's all this about the new company? I thought you were going to shut down Nightmare Enterprises."

"I am, but I still haven't thought about a name for the new company which will take its place. I'm deciding to start my own company, this time not for selling demonbeasts but instead, transporting supplies across the universe."

"You are?" Jecra asked. "Wow. I never would have thought you as a business man, Meta."

Meta Knight laughed.

"That's what I was thinking too, but by doing so, we will help the war-torn planets rebuild and make trade links easier to make."

"I'm curious. Tell more about it," Sir Arthur said, smiling under his mask.

"You remember how entrance gates to the Mirror World can be easily opened, correct? I can put two gates together, both leading from a different planet, and anyone who wishes to ship anything to another planet can easily call us up, we'll connect the gates, and whatever trading goods they're sending through will make it to the other side's Delivery System where it is needed."

"Sounds like the old style telephone operating business to me," Knuckle Joe said.

"I suppose it does in a sense."

"What about the rest of the demonbeasts? Are they coming back to Dreamland?" Dedede asked.

"Actually, I've been sending demonbeasts out to distant planets in the Dimensional World to connect Delivery Systems. I can send a few of my people to come and fix yours."

"But didn't you say that the universe would never forgive your kind after what Nightmare did?" Bun questioned.

"We're trying to earn forgiveness and I can tell you as of now that it will take a very long time before we will regain our pride."

A brief silence went by before Sword and Blade walked forwards, gazing up at their lord.

"How are your conditions, Sir?"

"Not the best. Most of the bones in my wings were broken and the doctors here have been operating on me since you all left the Mirror World. I have just gotten the chance to finally get away from them and try to send a message to Dreamland."

No one said anything for a while before Meena yawned and closed her small, gold eyes. Clara let out her breath, finally about to ask the one question that burned through her.

"W…when am I…going to see you…again?"

"Clara, I…" Meta Knight began, eyes becoming its regular gold again. "I want to see you too, but I'm afraid for Meena's sake. I…I want her to grow up in the Dimensional World, where she would be happier…some of the demonbeasts have become too dependent on the Mirror World that they are unable to leave. I too have now become too deeply reliant on the Mirror World's effects. I don't think I'll ever be able to leave without dying…I don't want the same to happen to Meena. For her, Clara, stay with her for another few years."

"A…a few years?"

"Clara, please. For Meena."

Clara looked down at the sleeping puffball, gently stroking her small cheeks.

"B…but do you p…promise? To see me again…after Meena is older? Do you promise that…we'll be together…again? Y…you left me…with almost no explanation and it…broke my heart…"

By the sound of his voice, they could all feel the guilt that Meta Knight had felt from not laying out his entire plans to her.

"I promise, Clara. We will still be able to see each other as much as you want, though it may not be in person. If you touch any reflective surface, I'll come and find you, but we will not be able to talk. Same for you, Kirby. If you ever need me, you know what to do."

Kirby nodded.

"By the way, Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Did you see me transform?"

Meta Knight's eyes turned light blue again in pride.

"Of course I did. I watched you use your true form through the Central Mirror until it suddenly fogged up. Since then, I haven't been able to see what's been happening in Dreamland…"

The others watched as the pillow behind Meta Knight began moving slightly.

"Whoa! Sir! That pillow, it just…" Sword trailed off.

Meta Knight's eyes seemed confused. He turned around before he suddenly broke off laughing.

"Oh, I see. These aren't pillows."

He carefully picked the one that had moved up and it uncurled, its small wolf head yawning as it blinked at the group on the other side of the monitor. Then, seven more furry heads rose to look at the group, one of them the familiar figure of Wolfwrath, a wide grin on her face that displayed a row of her sharp teeth. Every one of her pups held the appearance of their mother, some of them with growing spikes along their back. The one that Meta Knight held in his hand was the smallest of the litter, only slightly larger than his glove.

"Meena wasn't the only one born recently…I didn't know that Wolfwrath had been expecting pups."

The furry wolf pups clambered around Meta Knight, sniffing him while one of them chewed on the hem of his cape. They had all been turned away from the screen, their soft bellies facing the monitor which was why they had appeared as pillows to the others. Wolfwrath rolled on to her front, finished with her nap. Though the others could not hear her voice in their heads, they could see the happiness in her eyes.

Lololo and Lalala floated down to Meta Knight, saying something softly to him. He sighed, dismissing them.

"I have to go now. The company has been busy for the last few days…things have been a mess."

"It was nice seeing you again, Dad."

"You too, Kirby. Another thing, if the GSA ever needs any supplies, just turn the Delivery System on and just name what you need."

Clara slowly smiled, eyes watery.

"G…goodbye…Meta Knight…"

"It won't be long, Clara. Just a few years. Anyway, that's how long it will take for all of the sunflowers to grow."

"S…sun flowers?"

Meta Knight's eyes turned pink.

"The field where the Tower of Shadows was is where I planned to have sunflowers grown. I know how much you love sunflowers."

"T…thank you…" Clara said, smiling a little.

Meena woke up again, looking around her with a confused expression at the sudden change in mood. Clara held her daughter close to her as Meena pulled on her long, pink hair. Clara winced a little, but she turned back to Meta Knight for the last time in the next years.

"T…take care of yourself…"

"You too."

* * *

Kirby walked on to the sandy beaches, his shadow stretching out behind him. The setting sun's light illuminated the GSA star on his shoulder plate as he waded into the shallow water. He looked at the waves for a long time, watching his reflection distort itself over and over again.

The figure of Meta Knight appeared suddenly, walking in the reflection to his side, gold eyes thoughtfully gazing back at his son. Kirby smiled back when his father started running. Sprinting to keep up with his father, water splashed in all directions as the pink Star Warrior ran, yet none of the water disrupted the perfect, clear image of his father.

Kirby watched as his Meta Knight's body began to shimmer, taking on his true form of the mighty black dragon of the ancient prophecy. He did not even need to glance behind him to know that his body too was shimmering. His feathery wings opened, curving inward as his puffball-like body transformed into the long, serpent body of his true form. He was suddenly no longer running in the sea's shores but now flying above it, looking down at the reflection of the familiar black dragon. Meta Knight's eyes glowed bright pink, challenging Kirby on.

Anyone watching from Dreamland's grassy fields would have seen the silver dragon, flying over the sea, just skimming over the azure waters. Sea gulls cried out as they flew away from the monstrous figure that suddenly roamed through the skies. Kirby turned to the stars that now shone above him, thinking about Nightmare who was still out there, desperately trying to rebuild his once mighty empire.

_Hear me Nightmare! As long as I stand alive, the universe will be free from your reign! _

With that, Kirby tilted his head back and roared out, letting the thundering call ripple across the oceans, across the lands, and out into the starry skies of the universe.

* * ***The End* * ***

**A/N: **Wow…it's all over. I cannot believe how far this story has strayed from the original writings in my notebook. It had Kirby and the others going on a quest to _find _Nova instead of Nova conveniently landing in Dreamland at a convenient time for Clara to wish for an entrance into the Mirror World and follow Meta Knight in. Meta Knight also did not appear until the very end which I think was pretty lame.

Not sure if some parts seemed out of place, but I was SOOOO rushed because I have to leave tomorrow and won't be back home until August. Ugh…I hope this did not ruin the quality of this chapter.

So now Kirby has a sister, Meena. I kind of liked the name too much to think of anything else so the name stuck with her. If the story stretched on further, I would have her grow bat wings like Meta Knight in the later years.

Now, what else could this story have ended with…

With Dedede, I would have had him give Dreamland to Kirby to set up a GSA base and the penguin would retire along with Escargon.

Sword, Blade, Bun, Sirica, and Knuckle Joe would join the GSA soldiers, serving in the ranks alongside Kirby.

SailorDee and Clara would eventually return to the Mirror World and stay with Meta Knight.

And just a thought…Blade would marry Fumu in the later years. :)

Feel free to point something out if I left a question about Angels of Prophecy or Beyond the Mirror that should have been covered, unanswered. I enjoy these kinds of reviews better than any other.

If I made this into a trilogy, this would conclude it up. Should I really bother writing a prequel, or is it just a waste of time? I know that people voted for both a sequel and a prequel to Angels of Prophecy, but now I'm starting to rethink about it. It's not like it will totally different since there are already many Meta Knight centered fics about his life and parts of it had been mentioned throughout Angels of Prophecy and Beyond the Mirror.

Please review and try to convince me to make a prequel…or try to pull me out of complete disaster before it even starts!


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